Saturday, July 21, 2012

This Week's Blog Post

Tiffany Inspired Bracelet
My youngest niece is having a Tiffany and spa themed birthday party! So I am working on Tiffany inspired bracelets that all the guests will receive at the party.
This chain is perfect for kids. It looks heavy but it actually made of super lightweight aluminum and is quite strong!
Portable Air Conditioner
This photo of Emmett shows how hot it has been in my house! The poor thing could not even find energy to put his limps on his pedestal. He was looking at me as if to say “can’t you do something about this?”.
This was the best $300 I have ever spent!!! After accepting that this summer is not going to improve in terms of heat and humidity I broke down and bought a portable air conditioner! I have been living without which was survivable up to this season!
I opted for portable so that I can spot cool rooms by simply rolling this unit from room to room as needed. I can use the oven again!  It has an obnoxious tube that exhausts out the window!
It was not as simple to install in the window as anticipated but Jim figured out a way to make it work easily. If I was by myself trying to set up the window situation there would have been a number of curse words coming from my mouth!
Carter Fields

CarterFields is a little gem I initially read about in the local newspaper. Located on the North Andover/Boxford town line in MA it is 85 acres of conservation land.
After a short hike through overgrown, bug filled woods, the path brings you to an open swampy area of nesting trees! The pictures are taken from really far away, hence the grainy results.
There is an estimate of 70 pairs of great blue herons that nest here each May and June. Unfortunately we did not have binoculars to get a good look at the birds but we could make out their profiles! After cropping the photos, we can see them much better.
Mango, Avocado and Arugula Salad
I came across this salad via Pinterest. Pairing mango with avocado is something that never crossed my mind before. This recipe is delicious if you love the ingredients.
Its dressing is a honey Dijon which is really simple to whip up. Considering the price of macadamia nuts along with their incredibly high calorie content, I substituted with cashews. This is a great summer salad! Recipe here.
Garden Update
Pretty pink lilies!
Pretty pink gladiolas! It is neat how the buds open from the bottom up.
Pretty pink hibiscus! I love these enormous floppy flowers!
The hydrangeas are blooming!
Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful week! ~Val

24 comments:

  1. Lovely bracelet - the girls will love them! Great macro pics of your flowers - you've got some amazing blooms going!

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  2. Aircondition is fine if the temperature is comfortably but not northpole.
    I think I love your summer salad recipe, love all the ingredients.
    Have a lovely week!

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  3. Oh, that poor poor cat! Surviving without AC is not much of an option down here in the South. And let me tell you, my car's AC just went out and even driving down the street is like a full work out. I have to bring a face wipe just to look presentable. Needless to say, my car's going in the shop on Monday. That's where I'll be spending my $350. LOL

    Those girls will so love your bracelets. Fabulous work!

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  4. The girls are going to love their bracelets!
    I'm not sure what I'd do without central air! It's been 100+ for the last week and we still have another week of this heat!
    My grandpa's favorite flower is the gladiola :)

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  5. Love, love, love the bracelets. You and your poor cat having to endure the heat. I'm so glad your A/C portable unit is working out for you! Such a great looking salad!!

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  6. Hi Val, your garden is looking great...love the pretty blooms. The bracelets you are making for your neice are really awesome...I think they would appeal to people of all ages. I really like the chunky look but like knowing I have something light on my wrist so, great idea with that.

    I love seeing all your trips...you and Jim go to the coolest places.

    Yes, air conditioning is a must. I have window units and hate them because they are ugly but hey, they get the job done and that is what counts.

    have a great week. Stay cool

    Ruth

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  7. Eep!! That bracelet is the bee's knees -- I know my girls would just love it! In fact, *I* would!

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  8. I adore that bracelet you have made for your niece's party! Lucky girls! Can I go to the party?? I could not manage without an air conditioner at this time of the year over here! I try not to run it all day but, phew, it's hot without it.

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  9. Oh my I'd love to be a guest at your niece's party! How fun!! I know what you mean about the Summer, it's been exhausting here oh and your garden as beautiful as ever. I had purple gladiolas when I lived in Mexico a few years back.

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  10. Val, I love the Tiffany inspired bracelets! Nice gifts for everyone! Your poor kitty! I would have been fanning him! He is saying, mom, help me ;o) The blue heron pictures are amazing! Love the salad and I love the flower pictures! Take Care ;o)

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  11. It's hard to imagine you swearing, but guess the 300 can make everything possible! :)) We had something similar, managed to put flexi-glass (kinda plastic) with the hole for tube...

    Your garden looks very femme right now. Such soft delicate colors, like watercolors paintings... I got this feeling to try that looking at your flowers. Have to tell, never did, but now I want to! (and if result is bad, at least I can say it's not my garden ;) Don't take it wrong, I love your garden photos!

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  12. Cute kitty ^-^
    I love silver jewelery! I like your bracelet so much *_* So nice!!
    xoxo

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  13. came by from Stacys blog!! i had a marvelous visit!

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  14. That bracelet is really sweet. It would be great for a Tiffany style party. I need air conditioning in summer time. It gets so hot and humid here.

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  15. What a brilliant addition to your home ~ the fact that it's portable is sheer genius! Loved visiting your blog ~ thanks!
    ♥Sharon

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  16. A Tiffany themed party sounds like FUN!! The guests are going to LOVE their bracelets!!
    Years ago, when it still got really hot here in summer we bought one of those portable A/C's. Just remember to empty the tank which fills up quite rapidly with water ;-)
    Anyway, I hope Emmett appreciates it!
    Those trees with the herons are so amazing. I've never seen anything like it. All the flower but especially the lilies are stunning!

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  17. Oh my goodness Val, these young ladies are going to love the bracelets! What a wonderful idea.

    That salad sounds wonderful, and truly so perfect for this hot weather. Poor Emmett, but what an adorable photograph. It truly says it all, and lok just like how I felt before it cooled off a bit here. Hope it has there, also for you.

    xo.

    P.S. Victoria LOVED the necklace. Thank you so very much, once again.

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  18. Love the heart bracelet. Great idea! Your kitty looks so sweet...hehehe....and pooped out! Take care..

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  19. once again...great pics dear!!

    www.meryswardrobe.blogspot.com

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  20. that's such an awesome gift! very nice bracelet for your niece!

    the STYLE Fringe BLOG
    http://the-stylefringe.blogspot.com

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  21. Wow, a lot is going on in your corner of the world! A tiffany inspired party? Cute! Love what you've come up with too. The flowers are gorgeous and that salad looks so yummy!

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  22. That annoyed expression of the cat is hilarious! Yeah, he’s probably chiding you for not doing anything to relieve him from the summer heat. We could only hope he’d understand that some ACs can’t be installed as easy and quickly as we want. Haha!

    Henrietta Fuller @ Bri-Tech

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  23. What an eventful week, Val! I can only imagine how awful it was to be doing those fabulous bracelets while feeling so hot and trying to cool yourself. Good thing you were able to buy a portable air conditioner as soon as possible. Anyway, do you have a central HVAC unit for your house? Hope you’ll update me about it. Thanks!

    Shelley Coday @ C & C Heating & Air Conditioning

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val