Thoughts of the Week - Maxi Dresses, Nail Polish and Addicting Books

Hi friends, and happy Friday!  Another week down and another week closer to warm weather.  We're still experiencing June gloom here in So Cal and it hasn't risen above mid 70's.  We are especially anxious for it to warm up a bit because...

The pool's done!  The kids are already swimming, but it takes a lot hotter whether to get me in the pool.  The rest of the yard is still a disaster, resembling not much more than a giant dirt pit.  There's plenty of work to do, which we will mainly be doing ourselves, but until we can get the landscaping completed, we'll be buying some astro-turf tomorrow to make a pathway to the back door.  Wet foot prints all over the floor I can deal with, but wet muddy foot prints, not so much.  

Regarding the landscaping, has anyone ever laid down their own sod and/or decomposed granite?  We have experience laying our own sprinklers and lighting, but have never attempted sod.  We've decided to lay DG  in the patio area and as a pathway to the pool area, but I've heard it can be a lot of work.  Is it worth the money we'll save, or will we want to shoot ourselves?

I didn't write an outfit post this week because well, nothing really to exciting to report.  I've lived in 2 outfits all week, the maxi dress and gray shrug combo you see above Mon-Tues, and the striped navy maxi dress and navy cardi you see below.  It's a comfy but put together look that I don't really have to put too much thought into.  I'm sporting a side braid below, which is my new favorite easy-breasy look.  My mission is to learn to do a french and fishtail braid. 

I did finally start a Facebook page for Four Flights of Fancy this week!  Thanks so much for the support and the "likes" already given.  I appreciate it so much :)  You can get to the page and like it yourself by following the "f" link on my right sidebar, or following this link.

In other news, I used the colors from the latest OPI collection, Pirates of the Caribbean.  The color on the left is called Skull & Glossbones and is the perfect shade of taupe/gray.  I painted my toes with this one.  The color on the right is called Mermaid Tears and I used that for my fingers.  It's a little Katy Perry Teenage Dream for me, but since my polish only lasts 2-3 days, it's not the biggest commitment.

I lost 4 hours of sleep on Wednesday because I stayed up reading this.  Annie turned it on to me.  Girl's got great taste in books, and she does a monthly reading list recap so I pretty much just follow her recs now :)  It's the perfect easy read that's exciting enough to grab and hold onto your attention, but written in an uncomplicated way so as not to require the concentration of meta-physics.  They're making a movie based on the series and Kim shared the cast info with me.  I'm calling it right now, ladies, we have a new Twilight on our hands. 

Thanks for all your advice on the pots and pans by the way!  So I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with All Clad, but now I just need to decide if I should suck it up and get the set, or buy a couple of pieces at a time.  Tough decisions I know, isn't life excruciating sometimes (insert sarcasm).  After watching this video, I know how lucky and ridiculously pampered I am sometimes.  Katie said it best, we take so much for granted sometimes.

And on that note, have a great weekend guys.  Off to take my boy to the park!

Love 146

Registration for Blog Sugar closed on Tuesday. I'm thrilled to be a part of this event and look forward to meeting many of you for the first time. Each year Rachel has chosen a charity to support at Blog Sugar, and I came home today to find out that this year, we will be supporting Love 146. I'd been out all day doing living my cozy and safe life, taking the kids to swim lessons, and I came home to watch this video, which details a bit about the organization. I was rocked to the core within seconds.

The world is a sick, horrible place sometimes. I cannot fathom a world where these atrocities happens, but it does, no matter how much I wish and hope and pray it didn't. A portion of the proceeds from Blog Sugar ticket sales will go towards this organization, and there will be opportunities to donate at the event. I am both proud and humbled.

If you have a moment, please watch the video below of the founder and President of Love 146, Rob Morris, and to learn more about the organization and how they are working diligently to end child sex slavery and exploitation through prevention and aftercare, go HERE.


Love146 History from LOVE146 on Vimeo.

Making Magazine Worthy Recipes More Budget and Kid Friendly

Between busy schedules, budgets and an already acquired arsenal of trusted and loved recipes, it's hard sometimes for me to justify taking a chance on a new recipe.  I seem to only try a new recipe about 1-2 times a month.  But when I received the May 2011 issues of Better Homes & Garden, I couldn't resist.  It helped that I was familiar with all of the main ingredients, so it was really going to be just a twist on the preparation.

Now please don't get me wrong, I don't regularly cook magazine worthy, picture perfect meals every night of the week.  I've shared many of my easy, no fuss standbys, but this last week the stars aligned and schedules worked out nicely so that I was able to spend a bit more time in the kitchen.  Following are my tips and tricks to making each of these recipes a bit more budget and kid friendly so the whole family can eat the same thing, keeping the weekly market specials in mind and adjusting some ingredients.  When I create a meal plan for the week, I always try to make sure that each meal can be easily adapted for the kids to eat.  The end goal is A) avoid becoming a short order cook, and B) continue to expose the kids to new tastes and foods.  I was able to achieve those goals with all these recipes below.  All photos via BH&G because mine never turn out this pretty :)

 Grilled Pork Tenderloin With Pineapple & Mango Salsa

Luckily I already had a nice package of 2 pork tenderloins in the freezer so I cut costs there.  The original recipe called for the salsa to be made with pineapple and papaya, but mangos were on sale so I made a substitution.  To make the dish more kid friendly, I shaved off the outside of the pork before serving, as the dry rub was a bit spicy.  And instead of serving the mango & pineapple salsa mixed up, I just reserved some pieces on the side and served them plain.  I grilled up some corn as well and called it dinner.

We had a whole tenderloin left over which served as dinner for a second night, and with just a bit leftover I made a yummy salad for lunch the next day of lettuce from our garden, cubed up pork, cannelini beans, avocado, cherry tomatoes and a simple olive oil and lime juice vinaigrette, with a dash of salt and pepper.

I usually roast my pork tenderloin with a simple dry rub of salt and pepper, but this ingenious method of grilling made the meat turn out phenomenal.  Super moist and tender, I'll be cooking this dish all throughout summer.

Fish Tacos With Cabbage & Chile Slaw 

Fish tacos are just about one of my favorite dishes to make because they're fast and healthy.  This dish calls for halibut, but Tilapia was on sale for a great price of $4.99/lb so I went ahead and made the substitution and these tacos couldn't have been more amazing.  For the slaw, I substituted the diced chili for a sprinkle of ancho chili powder that I had bought for the pork tenderloin.  Might as well use what you've got right?  The cabbage for the slaw is just about 1/4 of a head, so I asked the produce guy to cut a cabbage in quarters and paid I think 35 cents for it, a heck of a lot cheaper than lettuce!

To make the dish more kid friendly I served the fish by itself without the tomatillos and minus the taco shell.  I served sliced mango, my Grandma's Spanish Rice and pinto beans on the side.  The kids devoured the fish!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe called for sugar snap peas, one of the few vegetable I can get Syd to eat, so I was on board!  I had plenty already on hand, as well as carrots and celery, so I just mainly needed the chicken.  The recipe calls for a whole chicken, but chicken breasts and thighs were on sale for .97 cents a pound, so I went ahead and used those instead.  The soup went far, feeding us for 2 dinners and 2 lunches for me.  If you have tortilla chips on hand, use those instead of frying up your own.

To serve the soup for the kids, I gave them the broth, chicken and sugar snap peas (neither of my kids will eat cooked carrots or celery but will eat them raw), and made little quesadillas as well.  I have found that my kids will always be more apt to try a new dish if I make sure to serve something familiar with it, hence the quesadillas.  They liked adding their own toppings of the cheese and tortilla too. 

Overall I was impressed with the recipe planning of these meals because they all had overlapping ingredients, so you could make the most of what you had on hand.  For instance all 3 of the above recipes called for cilantro, which usually goes to waste when I buy it for just one dish.  This sort of planning helped me keep my grocery bill right at $100 for the week.

Fresh Raspberry Bars

Well I've already professed my love for these bars, but I just wanted to reiterate how ridiculously good they are!  I ended up making them 3 times last week for 3 separate events we went to and they were a hit everywhere we went.  To make the bars a bit more budget friendly, I went ahead and used cream cheese (as suggested) for the custard instead of the goat cheese.  I made them both ways, and trust me, you don't notice a difference between the 2.  I did make the shortbread with my hand mixer the first time, and the Kitcheaid the other 2 times and the Kitchenaid definitely does a better job of mixing the shortbread.  It came out lighter and flakier when made with the Kitchenaid. 

Do you have any tips on how you make your recipes more budget and kid friendly?  Do you usually make separate meals for the kids if you're making a special recipe, or do you hold the philosophy that you get what you get?

Threaded Rhinestone Bangle DIY Tutorial

Just about every store I stop into lately, from Ann Taylor Loft to Forever 21, has some version of these ribbon and rhinestone bracelets.  They look simple enough to make, so I thought I'd try a little DIY action.  While I'm not a huge rhinestone nut, I do like the somewhat subtle look of these and love that you can wear them stacked for a night out, or wear a single bangle for just a bit of added sparkle.  I personally think my camo jacket was screaming for a little glam and glitz today, so I added a pair of these for the first concert in the park of the season.

I bought both 1/8" and 1/16" ribbon just to see which one would work best, and it turns out I used them both.  The rhinestone size is 4mm and was all that was available at Joann's, using my 40% off coupon of course.  As far as bangles go, you can use just about any shape and size, as you can see above.  You will also of course need some scissors and a hot glue gun. 

To make a solid satin ribbon wrapped bangle, start by adding a small drop of hot glue to the underside of the bangle to hold the ribbon in place, and then start wrapping the bangle.  I used the 1/8" ribbon for this style.

Once completely wrapped in ribbon, glue the end of the ribbon down, and add another small dot of glue to the top of the satin covered bangle, and affix the rhinestone.  Add small drops of glue all the way around and repeat the process, being very careful not to add too much glue so that it spills over the backside of the rhinestone.

If you do get a glob of glue on the side of the rhinestone or on the ribbon, simply heat up with the tip of the glue gun and pick off the melted glue.

 Your finished product

To achieve the threaded look, start in reverse by affixing the rhinestone directly to the bangle with dots of hot glue.  Then add the ribbon in between the rhinestones by first gluing the ribbon to the underside of the bangle, and then wrapping the ribbon 2-3 times between each rhinestone, continuing all the way around.  I used the 1/16" ribbon for this look.  Add a drop of glue to the end of the ribbon and cut off the excess.

 Your finished product, side view

You could do all one colors, but I really like the way the different colors blend together, plus I have more color options for various outfits.  I also made a couple of just plain satin wrapped bracelets without the rhinestones to break the sparkle up a little.  Easy peasy right?  Let me forewarn you that the rhinestones on these do snag a bit so don't wear your most beloved silk top or delicate sweater, or risk some runs and pulls.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial, and please let me know if you try it!

I'm also linking up to Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog for the first time!

Thoughts of the Week - Blog Sugar, Cookware & Husbands

Hi Friends!  Happy Friday.  Anyone have any good plans for the weekend?  Summer's pretty much here which means a smoke out at our favorite Southern friend's house and the first concert in the park of the season.

The last couple of weeks I have really been focusing on getting those real life friendships back in shape after sadly neglecting a lot of them for numerous reasons.  While I've been taking some time each day to still blog, I've been off of the computer a lot less since returning from Yosemite, and have really taken a break from Twitter.  I did the math, and after being on Twitter for a little over a year now, I have racked up over 4000 tweets.  If you calculate how long it takes to read a stream of tweets, and then type up 4000 140 character messages on a phone, it adds up to over 30 minutes of my time each day.  Sad :(  While I often tweet when I'm alone and having down time, it's still time that I could spend reading a book, saying a prayer or even just thinking.  To be alone and lost in your own thoughts is an important and necessary thing sometimes isn't it?  Anyhow, just something I'm working on for me and my sanity :)

Have you heard that registration closes for Blog Sugar next Tuesday?  Yup, it sure does!  Rachel and I are meeting this morning to walk through the venue and we're getting really excited.  I'm looking forward to meeting many of you in September, so if you haven't bought your ticket, GO NOW!! 

On a completely different topic, we are in need of new cookware badly.  We have non stick that is 12 years old now and we literally can see some of the Teflon flecking off and floating in the pan.  Not good.  I want to go with something like All Clad but am so overwhelmed with all the choices.  Do we go with the brand name and if so, where do we buy it?  Who has the best prices?  Or do we go with an off brand and save our money?  Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated :)

Lastly, like I said I've been spending a lot of time with girlfriends lately and the other night we were joking about our husbands and the ups and downs that we go through in a marriage.  It was all very nice I promise, no husband bashing.  We are all pretty blessed to be married to some great guys.  I told them that sometimes when I start to get angry with Art over the petty crap like his annoying habit of leaving drawers and cabinets open or coming home late from work, I try to remember this clip from Bridget Jones Diary, Edge of Reason.  You can forward to the actual scene at 6:50 in the clip, or you can go ahead and watch it from the beginning and marvel at Mark Darcy ;)

It's the scene where she's in jail and complaining how Mark Darcy didn't stick up for her.  Turns out she didn't have it so bad in comparison to the boyfriends that make their girls take drugs and work on the street.  Obviously a very silly and trivial comparison, but it makes me chuckle anyhow and sometimes help me get out of my bitch funk.  See, there are lessons to be learned everywhere, even from a cheesy chick flick!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Letting Go of Anger - Grace on a Thursday Guest Post

"I had never practiced.  Practiced until it became the second nature, the first skin.  Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation.  Practice, practice, practice."  Ann Voskamp - One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

I'm guest posting over at Top of the Page today, telling a recent story from our Yosemite trip where I learned a little about letting go of and controlling anger, and accepting Grace wherever and whenever I can find it.  If you want to know what the quote above has to do with the post, head on over to her blog :)  Leslie has an amazing blog and a wonderful heart.  I feel very honored that she asked me to guest post today in her Grace on a Thursday series.  I don't often blog about faith so I was nervous, but with Leslie's encouragement, I think, I hope, I was able to do the series justice. 

I don't talk about the photos in the guest post, but I have to give my husband some credit here on my blog.  All the photos below were taken with our Canon in HDR mode, and processed using a program called Photomatix Pro.  They are truly breathtaking.  I think so anyhow :)

These two pictures are from the beach in our camp.  

He waited a very long time early one morning for this bridge to be empty.

This was one of the meadows we discovered on our many hikes and walks

This is at the beach in our camp

He captured an eagle!

View of Bridalveil Falls from stream at dusk on our way out of the park. 

Half Dome at dusk

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Required Uniform

{Jacket - Old Navy, T-Shirt - Target, Skirt - James Perse (c/o my old job), Sandals - Sam Edelman, Bracelets - Forever 21}

As is the case with many things in my life, including hair styles, makeup and clothes, I become a stage one clinger when I find something I love.  You may have noticed that this camouflage jacket made an appearance in almost every single Yosemite picture I posted, usually tied around my waist.  I have no shame in wearing a piece of clothing over and over again, and in front of the same people, especially if it is both functional and stylish.

The jacket served a utilitarian purpose while camping in that it was lightweight enough to wear as a layering piece, but heavy enough to keep the chill off.  The hidden drawstring at the waist allows you to cinch in the waist when you're ready to make it a bit more feminine.  I think the best part of all though was that I paid $14.99 for it and I've already worn it at least 15 times, equaling a dollar per wear in less than 2 weeks.  Do you wear an item of clothing over and over, and in front of the same group of friends?  Or do you try to switch up the outfit a bit if you're going to be seeing the same people?  I used to worry about that kind of stuff but now, not so much.

I wore this outfit to a friend's house on Memorial Day and we had a great time.  Taylor dressed up as a horse and Syd played with blocks.  Their moods may be unpredictable, but the things they love and gravitate towards are nothing but predictable.  Something I didn't predict?  Finding a dessert that would actually kill all of my will power.  I have said many times before that I am a savory girl above all else, but these Raspberry Bars from the May issue of Better Homes and Gardens have seriously got a hold on me.  Lemony goat cheese custard poured over fresh raspberries and shortbread is nothing short of magical.  I just ate 6 bars and washed it down with a glass of milk.  Let me know if you're interested in the recipe and I'll send it to you.  You won't regret it :)

And I'm switching things up a bit by posting my outfit on a Wednesday, I know :)  I'm linking up to Lindsey's WIWW post for something a little different and fun!  Stop by her blog for lots of other everyday women fashion inspiration.

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