Inspiration Wednesday: Red Purses

I don't have a specific favorite color - I love LOTS of colors - most shades of blue, blue-greens are a fave, pink, a recent love of all vintagey whites, etc., etc. But one color that NEVER fails to catch my eye is RED. And the reason this color is on my mind is Valentine's Day, which is coming up. I can't stop looking at pinks, whites, and reds.

Oh how I love red for accents - for eye drawing objects in a room, lipstick, nail polish, dresses, shirts, sweaters and, of course - purses! I love a good red purse. For some reason I rarely wear them, though. I usually just stick to my trusty black or brown neutral color purses, because I don't know what I'll wear day to day and changing out purses is a hassle so I am very lazy you see. But does that stop me from collecting them? Nope. Also - wallets. ;)

An assortment of my favorite purses. I likely have more, but these are within reach. Aren't they adorable together? Sorry for the bad lighting - overcast, rainy day.

This is the first red purse I remember purchasing. It's like a cheap version of a little satiny cocktail purse, too small to hold much beyond some lipstick and a compact, etc. I don't think I've ever used it, but it's too cute and small to part with. It doesn't take up much room is my excuse.

I probably bought this wallet at the gap at the same time - far more used - It's probably my favorite wallet as it has the easiest to open and organize features. Probably the last time Gap really made a worthy wallet, IMHO. Also last time they had really classic clothes they were known for - this is back in the '90's - then they turned trendy and it is soooo hard to find decently made classic clothes there.

What happened to you, Gap? I still shop there and find the rare decent top, their jeans are still great, but last time I shopped there I ordered online, not being able to drive there and leave the house so soon after my operation and the clothes that looked the same as I'd bought last time came tissue paper thin. If I'd felt it in the store I'd NEVER have bought it. They cheaped out on the fabric of all the shirts and that really pissed me off - thus the rant, sorry. I had to drag myself to the store and return them as soon as I was able. Darn it. So few quality stores left and usually at prices I can't afford. /rant. Just look at the wallet and pretend I never went crazy about the store.

Ahem, now that my Gap rant is through - this is a patent leather, very thin red purse. Doesn't everyone need a patent leather red purse? Well I do. Even if it also doesn't hold enough to be very useful. LOL Nice and shiny and oh so cute on the shoulder, though.

And also everyone needs a red crocodile purse. I got it from Target a few years ago as a present from my mom for starting an internship in March at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I always think of how excited I was for the chance to work there when I see this purse.

And a velvet Esprit purse I've had for many years - this close up is to show you how dark red, burgundy, really, it is and how velvety soft. It has this super long strap which was really useful as a student to sling over like a messenger bag. I did use this in the winter quite a few times. Too pretty to part with even if I don't use it anymore.

And while on the subject of winter red purses - you must own a wool one, too, right? Well, I do. It's so cozy looking.

But this one - this is my favorite of all and it usually sits on a shelf protected all on its own (but filled with smaller bags so it doesn't lose it's shape and is still useful) - this is my Coach tote. I LOVE this purse. It's big enough to hold everything you need and even a book or a magazine and more. It's my special purse that I only use when I want to feel good about myself. I use it sparingly, though, as I don't want it to get an accidental pen mark or something on the precious canvas sides. The red leather trim is gorgeous, though.

And as much as I love Coach purses - a special treat for me. I will admit that they sometimes have a bizarre humor and use a really UGLY lining in their pretty purses. Almost as a joke you'll find a pretty dark brown purse and open it up and there is neon green or orange lining inside that totally doesn't go and is actually an assault to the eyes. Now maybe they are trying to make it easy to see your stuff inside a dark bag, but there are FAR better colors and materials to use. Many a purse has been passed by for me because the lining is atrocious.

But see here in this pic - the lining is sky blue!! Another big plus!! That's how you line a pretty and rather expensive purse, right? I love the inside as much as the outside.

And if you have a coach purse you have to have a coach wallet, too. Just because. It's a little on the small side to be useful, I use it a lot, though, just have a second small wallet for the other junk I need. :)

Next post: likely the unbelievable cute shoes I got from Santa - well, my mother. The light's all gone now and I want to show how just how precious they are. And maybe a few other items I got for Christmas because isn't it fun to show off your pretty new gifts?

Igloo and Penguin Treats

Just a little pic from some of our Christmas spread this year, in the back ground are my mincemeat cookies and in front is the Igloo cheese ball. :)

Every year at Christmas we make a great cheeseball/spread, which the look of I got from one of those little Holiday recipe booklets they sell at the grocery store years ago. While the look of the igloo is the same, I detest blue cheese and also experiment and don't follow any recipe at all really when I make it so every year is a bit different, but always yummy - and a little spicy. Anyway - the igloo features little black olive penquins that are just too cute to eat, though they finally get eaten, too after awhile.

Sorry the pics aren't the greatest and you can't see the detail, but we make this spread which is golden yellow in final color (it has a variety of mild and sharp cheeses, bacon bits, green onions, and tabasco sauce, etc.), we then put it in a round bowl with plastic wrap and let it harden overnight then ice it with whipped cream cheese the next day of the party. You trace little blocks of ice on the igloo and cut up little squares for the entrance, which in this picture you can see a penguin is guarding or coming out. LOL

The penguins are made with jumbo black olives, split, stuffed with cream cheese, small olives for the heads and carrot feet and noses (though this year mom went with almond beaks for some reason) and then you stick a long flourished toothpick through the whole penguin and ta da! Something that has nothing to do with Christmas, really, but cute nonetheless and a treat I look forward to making each year.

The pics were taken shortly before the party and it was late with awful lighting and relatives arriving and unfortunately I don't have any nicely detailed pics. I do have older pics from past years I could maybe dig up and scan in. Anyway, it's always a hit spread on crackers and the spiciness of the cheese is calmed down with the cream cheese outside. It's delicious! :)

It's late to post a Christmas pic of a treat we had, but I kept forgetting to do it earlier and just now got around to it. I'm really procrastinating this year.

If anyone is interested in better pics and a recipe for the cheeseball just let me know. It really is a great centerpiece. People are afraid to ruin the artwork at first and then soon enough they dive in and carve the heck out of it. Poor penguins being swallowed whole by some. LOL Might be fun to try, especially if you have kids that liked the penguin craze of the past few years.

That Uh-Oh Moment Arrives

Remember how much I wanted that snow? I got it, less than predicted, but really cold temperatures to keep it around. It'll be 4 degrees tonight. So what happens? The furnace breaks. Yep. We're all freezing and bundled in blankets with the oven on and guess what? Can't fix it ourselves. Oh man, I was just asking for it, hm? lol Wish for my family and I not to freeze overnight. I take back the wanting snow comment - I wish it was summer now.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr..........

ETA: Thank goodness for emergency repairman. Costs more, but worth it when you face freezing, literally. Aaaahhh...warmth. Don't let it happen to you!

Winter Storm Warning

Oooh, am I perverse in thinking those words sound fun? I just love a good snow storm. Only problem is when loved ones are out on the roads when the advisory says to stay home. Darn it! But hopefully all will be well. I'll be worried til everyone is home safe, though. First they said 7 inches, now five and maybe another 1/2 tomorrow. Darn, I want deeeeeep snow that keeps everyone inside safe and snug. And a snow day for all. :)

My only concern, made a sale on etsy and now I'll have to wait til I can get to the post office to mail it. Shouldn't be too long, though.

Brrr...

It's 8 degrees outside and so dark cold a pillow stuck to a window with the freeze. And that's after we insulated it a few years ago because it's a broken stain glass window in my room. I can only imagine how cold my room would be if there wasn't an extra pain of glass there. My mother's knocked out with a cold so I'm staying near her to take care of her and my kitties are snuggling up in warm beds throughout the house not caring I'm late feeding them even if I am up.

This pic is a little old, but shows just how I feel, the need to snuggle in bed and just stay WARM.

And yet, I wish it would snow, everytime it's cold enough to keep it here awhile it doesn't snow and then when it warms to barely cold enough then we get a light snow or cold rain. Darn it. I love snow it makes the world seem clean and calm.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone is looking forward to a brand new start and a new year with hope in your hearts. I am personally looking forward to a year with less pain, enjoying a straight back, a hope of being able to take a trip sometime this year as I haven't been able to in so long. Finally, having a studio in which to work in and not an overloaded little table stuffed with junk in the living room in which to work on and to truly be able to create some of the things I've been longing to for so long. And of course I wish for greater success in my shop, but even when I sell just one thing once in awhile I get so excited. :) Thank you to everyone's comments on it and their patronage - I am truly happy when I get feedback that someone loved their item or they gave it as a gift and it was well received. I can only hope to do better.
But my greatest wish for this New Year is that our economy and state of the world in general improves. I have no naive ideals in world peace happening anytime soon, but a little bit of peace in certain parts of the world would be greatly appreciated by us all.

I also wish for good health and happiness to my friends and family. I wish this for everyone that reads this and a toast to all you wonderful readers and especially those of you who comment - thank you for your support it keeps me going. And I also wish good luck to other shop and blog owners and those thinking of starting new ones in this new year. I know of a few who expressed wishes to do so soon and I hope they get the courage to do so this year.

Good Luck, everyone!

Happy New Year, Everyone - here's to 2010!!!

Baking: Mincemeat Cookies - Give 'em a try!!

Isn't that a pretty cookie?? I think using new bigger cookie cutters was fun, makes for more calories per cookie and they'll go faster and use up the dough so I made only half of them like this, but I just think it's lovely - to make these cookies you need a fair sized cookie cutter and a smaller one that either is identically small version or I think one that just compliments it myself. The inside is a Dogwood flower - my fave.

Since it is after Christmas I didn't feel chained to making the traditional heart, star, and holly leaf. Never mind I couldn't find the little cookie cutters anyway and no holly leaf, got lost in the two kitchens I suppose. So that is why you will see my other cookies later - rabbits! A new attempt - not quite such a great one, but we love rabbits in our family so I thought it was worth a try. Also I had identical small rabbit cutter so why not?

Now don't go running from the word mincemeat - it isn't gross at all like it sounds. It tastes wonderful...especially when you 'improve' on the recipe. My grandmother taught me to make them and we have a strict regime: mincemeat tarts are for Thanksgiving and only the mincemeat cookies are for Christmas. Well, I don't always follow that rule because the mincemeat cookies rock - the dough is what really does it, but the filling is necessary, too.

The recipe comes from my old (okay my mother's) old Betty Crocker Cookbook which photographed so nicely here it looks new - in person it is yellowed, beat up and vintagey looking. Odd what a camera can do...it's also held together with tape on the binding. LOL I have no idea if the new Betty Crocker cookbook has this recipe. I guess I could go look, but I'm lazy - I always use this one.

The recipe in my book is in the cookie section and is under 'filled cookies' - you can be lazy and just make turnovers, but we cut out two identical cookie cutter shapes, the top one with the little cut out and filling in between. It can take practice and the dough will need constant chilling to handle and plenty of flower - sticky!! It is a very easy batter to make and you don't need to use the heavy cream, I never have that on hand, only 2% milk and it works just fine. Heck, cuts back on calories, too. Practically fat free and diet like, right? lol


Now here's a not too attractive picture of the filling after I 'fixed' it. I add an apple or two, granny smith is my favorite for more bite and plenty of raisins, all of this chopped very, very finely. Diced til you couldn't make it smaller without it being apple sauce. This year I ran out of raisins and had already begun so I added dried cranberries, worked just as well. Add as much as you like. I even add a touch of sugar so the filling is sweet and not too clove-y for me. Weird how a shiney metal bowl can really ruin a pic. Ick. Too much reflection. The little white squares are the apple.



Now, after you are done, hopefully you end up with something like this: a pretty cookie with the filling peeking out.
When you break it open it looks like this - yum!! You should smell my house right now - wow, do those cookies smell good. I need to make an air freshner can of that smell. Mmmm.... Oh, one last tip, just a spoonful of filling in the cookies, make sure you can form a seal around the edges or they are messy. Sometimes, if it's just for your immediate family and they demand more mincemeat filling I don't mind if they don't seal perfectly.



This is my first year's attempt at bunny cookies...not quite as pretty, huh? Also the little bunny was just a little too big and kept breaking the bigger cookie and well, they ended up not too cute, but they taste just as good, trust me...

And that's the end of my little tutorial. I have a confession to make - even if no one will ever see them or I have plenty of good cookies, I make my family eat the ugly cookies first. Does anyone else do that?? LOL I'm a control freak and I want the pretty ones to last longer and you never know someone might stop by and you want to give them a pretty cookie or two, right? :) I also made a few star cookies, but they are too ugly even to show. Those go first tonight.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!!

58 Gingerbread Lane

No one yet has joined me in Gingerbread House decorating show offs - how sad.

Doesn't anyone do Gingerbread houses anymore?? Well, I do. I'm ready to show you my smaller (different kit, too) and less extravagant house this year. Perhaps the residents of 58 Gingerbread Lane are feeling the economy, too. Anyway, without further to do:



The Front with candy lights, peppermint wreath, mint lifesaver path to the door, gumdrop shrubs, doublemint gum door and shutters, etc.:



The back view, you can't see, but I used red icing for the back door and behind the window (pretzel window) for stained glass effect:

And side view, gumdrop ridge of roof, plenty of snow, little (uglier kit peppermint) wreaths between the windows:

The BEAUTIFUL and HEAVY glass pedestal is a remarkable find and a tremendously gracious gift of my Fairy (Vintage) Godmother, of course. It has a history, but I'll keep it quiet, suffice to say this is a really nice vintage find and SO sweet of a gift to me while I was awaiting my operation. I can barely heft it around empty, lol. Now, I don't have piles of cookies to show you, I have dough and filling waiting, but first want to make one other dough to chill while I bake and then I have my snowflake cookies, etc. Mmm...the house will smell so good.

Happy Holidays

and if you made a gingerbread house or a graham cracker house share a pic/link, will you, please?? Better Luck next year, I guess....

By the way - just to make it easier to see last year's gingerbread house here's the link (I added a gingerbread house label as I plan to do it every year I can):

http://58cherries.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-new-home-on-gingerbread-lane.html

Not too different as you can see except the sweet tart roof took AGES to do. I'd love to do something really different next year. Go wild and create something different like these guys did in the post I had here:

http://58cherries.blogspot.com/2008/12/mmmsmell-gingerbread.html

Poor Fairy Godmother

Just found out earlier today she sneakily had major surgery on her foot she'd been putting off a great long while and that was why I hadn't heard back from her. I'm sending her warm wishes and hopes for speedy recovery - she had a tragic bloody accident afterwards that required more surgery and is now (hopefully) tied down to the bed and not allowed to get up and do such silly things. Shame, shame!! ;) I hope my Fairy Godmother still enjoys her Christmas Holiday, though. I wish I could be there for her as she was for me and my surgery. I'm there in spirit! Listen to your doctors and REST. You know...all the stuff I'm not doing. lol

Gingerbread House on its way...

Just finished my Gingerbread House. Hope someone else did, too and is willing to leave a link to their pics. I will take a picture when the light is good AND I have a camera AND a clean surface at the same time. No easy thing when it is the Holidays.

This house is much smaller and simpler - at least easier - no sweet tart roof, sad to say, but 'lights' and shrubs and special windows. :) My family turned the house upside down and totally changed all the rooms of two floors (yep, right before Christmas and then skip back to work with it all laying around undone) so I'm trying to keep my sanity and clean the kitchen at least and keep some space for myself and my baking. A hopeless cause, but one I fight nonetheless.

58Cherries