Pookie Bags, Eggplant and Birthday Flowers

Walker Bag
I asked one of my oldest and dearest friends of Pookie Bags if she could make a walker bag for grandpa!

It is perfect! There are easy on and off snap straps. The multiple pockets are easy to use with no zippers or other difficult closures. I suppose at age 100, one does not want to fiddle with zipper and buttons!

How fun is the mustache fabric? I know he will love it. He is popular with the ladies at the assisted living home and this will make him even more popular!

Birthday
So I celebrated my 41st birthday! Jim brought home a bouquet of lilies. It was the first time he gave me a bouquet of lilies only. 

It is stunning and the fragrance it amazing!

The flowers open up to be really huge and dramatic! They are still going strong a week later.

I remember being young thinking 40 something is so old! Now that I'm there I actually feel better than ever having reached all my goals I set out for. I'm even in better shape than ever thanks to yoga and healthy eating! I get better and better each year dealing with anxiety which has always been challenging for me. Meditation is on my list of things to learn.

Roasted Eggplant
I have never been a huge eggplant fan with the exception of Parmesan style with the skin removed. Then I saw eggplant "bacon" being prepared on tv and wanted to try it. Well that was an epic fail! 

I decided to roast the rest of the eggplant.

I was surprised how delicious it was, even with the skin! 

I tossed them with olive oil and equal parts cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Now I have an urge to roast them with other veggies for a delicious sandwich!

Thank you for stopping by. Wishing you an amazing week ahead. ~Val

Birthday Fun!

My niece celebrated her 9th birthday party this weekend! There was a basketball theme which meant the Boston Celtics!

My sister in law asked me if I could make bracelets for all the girls attending. How cute are these? Yes the Celtics colors are green and white but they have incorporated black in some of the merchandise. Black is cooler than white at this age anyway!

The birthday girl got bonus pieces! She also received a matching necklace, earrings and bookmark!

The prior weekend I celebrated mine! It was a great weekend spending it with friends on Saturday night and family on Sunday. Jim gave me the most beautiful bouquet yet!


He also got me a 3 sexy little dresses which I joke are more for him than me! Here is one of them.

I can't wait to wear these!

More flowers are blooming this week in my garden!


I'm looking forward to my tulips blooming!!! Some of the bulbs look close to opening! Until next week! Thank you for reading. ~Val

Jewelry Making Party!

My niece's 8th birthday party had a Diva Extravaganza theme...super girly! Part of the party was making bracelets!



So I laid out the beads for the girls to string onto their bracelet wire in whatever pattern they wanted. They had colored pearls, crystals, silver metal and pink glass to choose from. My Sister in Law had adorable cupcake charms for the girls to add to their bracelet!




The girls were really into the project as you can see! Once they finished beading to the right size, I finished off the bracelet.



This was so much fun for the girls. I used tips from Rena Klingenberg's blog Home Jewelry Business Success Tips.