This Week's Blog Post

Onyx With Gold 

Black onyx eyeglass chains and lanyards have always been a staple in my shop. However I have only made these using silver accents!

So I whipped up a gold eyeglass chain and will be doing the same with a lanyard. Onyx is such an affordable classic for every woman’s wardrobe! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

She’s So Creative

4 of my girlfriends celebrate May birthdays. This year I did my card shopping through She’s SoCreative on Etsy!

This one has salad dressing on the outside and reads “It’s Your Birthday! Just Vegetate.” Inside.

This one reads “Edna’s therapist tries a new approach to curing her fear of sharks.” on the outside and reads “Forget all our worries and have a happy birthday” on the inside.

This one reads “The Origin of Turkey Bacon” on the outside and “And that’s why they don’t have happy hour on farms anymore.” on the inside.

This one reads “The Dog Walk” on the outside and reads “Woof, woof! Happy birthday” on the inside.

Besides birthday cards, this shop has a great selection of other cards for various occasions. She also offers art prints, notepads, napkins, aprons and more! Stop by She’s So Creative for some fun shopping! I love her play on words!!! See her interpretation of pasta bowl or french chicks.  Like her on Facebook.

Brunch Fun

The May birthday girls came over for brunch. One of them and her daughter brought me a beautiful, vibrant bouquet!

A week later, the flowers still look fabulous. I decided to give the big orange one its own vase which Emmett thought was really cool.

I was craving one of my favorite things which I had to make….a corn salsa dip!  Simply combine the following in a bowl:

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 avocados, chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 8 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, if desired
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing (I actually only use 1/4 cup of light)

It is ridiculously delicious as is or with tortilla chips. Luckily this has no effect on my gluten free diet!!!!

Rhododendron

I have a huge rhododendron that has amazing blooms. Here is the evolution of this bloom!

New Hairstyle

Every 6 months or so I feel a need to change my hair style (in the side bar). This is the latest. I actually had a different cut for the last 5 weeks which I did not care for. This is a modification of the last style combined with my former style.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend and week!!!  ~Val

The Week in Review!

This past week was nothing exciting. I do feel a need to share my fabulous corn salsa recipe though! I made 2 batches for a Cinco de Mayo party over the weekend....one for a side dish and the other for a chip dip!
It is so easy. Start with a can of black beans and a can of corn:

Then add diced tomato and avocado:

Lastly add scallions, cilantro and dressing then mix it up!

So delicious and healthy!!!
Here is the recipe:
3 tomatoes, diced
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed
1 can corn (11oz, drained)
2 avocados chopped
4-8 scallions sliced (depending on your tastes)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup Italian dressing (I use low calorie)
Great for cookouts!!!

New to my shop are 24kt gold vermeil jewelry findings that were crafted in Bali.

Available at www.missvalscreations.com.
I am quite excited that this tree survived! It is called an Eastern Red Bud. My dad raised this one from an offspring of his 40 year old tree. It was planted last summer and survived the brutal weather!

It has these pretty pink buds all over the branches which will soon turn into leaves.
My little azalea is starting to bud too!

Hopefully by next weekend there will be more of this fuchsia bud popping up!!!
Thank you for reading! Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. :)
~Val