Soup's On

A good bowl of soup makes me happy.  Not until recently did I realize how easy, I mean really easy it is to make.  Canned soup has so much sodium and they always seem to put in one ingredient that I don't like. 


I modified this Vegetable Soup to my liking and it was MMM, MMM good!!

This is what they say you need.


1.  3 tablespoons olive oil
2.  1 large onion, diced
3.  3 stalks celery, chopped
4.  6 medium carrots, chopped
5.  2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
6.  1 large clove garlic, crushed
7.  5 cups water
8.  1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
9.  1 package of frozen mixed veggies, thawed
10. One bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste


This is what you do with all the stuff


1.  Start with a large stockpot.  Saute the onion and celery in olive oil until soft and golden.
2.  Stir in carrots and potatoes and saute for five minutes.
3.  Stir in garlic and cook for one minute.
4.  Add water, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  You can add the thawed frozen veggies now or just before you serve the soup.
5.  Heat to boiling.
6.  Reduce heat to low.
7.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours.
8.  Remove bay leaf and serve.


Now, I didn't have any potatoes and didn't see the reason to add the bag of veggies.  I also used diced tomatoes with onion and bell pepper and only a small can, so I cut the water in half.  Check out the sodium content on the tomato can, so much less than what you find on any soup can!  


So very good and full of lycopene and high in a variety of vitamins and antioxidants, especially vitamin A. It's also vegan and gluten free, what more could you ask?


Their version has 213 calories per serving and serves seven.  Mine is just plain delicious!

Faux, Faux, Faux

It's been snowing for hours here in Maine, gray, cold, pretty icky out!  I won't go out today, that's for sure, I'll play inside!


I'm bringing Spring to my dining room on this wintry day.  I love doing this, running around the house, gathering things that might look nice together and just seeing what happens.


WARNING:  I am using fake or would you rather I say faux flowers?  I know many people hate, hate, hate them and they can be tacky, really tacky, you know what I'm talking about.

Well, my little Spider Orchids were fifty cents a piece and I just couldn't resist them.  So, I transformed my sideboard with a bunch of plastic and silk.

Is it because it is so gray and gloomy out that I think these look okay?  Please tell me if I've wasted my $2.50!


Remember my old sideboard?

It's so cheery now.

I had to change the centerpiece, the white urn went to the sideboard.

Oh dear is that a faux dog?


The mantle got springified.

Could those white things be faux vegetables?  This place is a faux pourri!!


So I had some fun and turned this..

Into  this.

What do you think about faux flowers, would you ever use them your lovely home?  Let's be honest, now.

Platinum Sounds Good

I have so many projects in the works and find myself taking a break from all of them, oh well.  Haven't painted my newly tiled bathroom yet, but am sure it's going to be white.  I like white!!


So, what's more fun than painting, finding things for my newish bathroom. It's going to look so nice when I finally get around to painting it, definitely need new towels, white of course.


These are quite nice, Waterworks Studio Tile Sculpted Towels at Bloomingdales.

White, right on the top, although they call it Moon (that must be a fancy name for white) and they are even reduced.


Boy am I lucky, they are $34.95 a piece, now that's a steal compared to their original $45.00.  


Of course you know I'm kidding.  Just wanted to know how much my new towels, complete with their Bloomingdale's label, really cost.


They sure do look alike.

You'd be hard pressed to find a washcloth at Bloomingdales for what I paid for these.  I know the suspense is killing you....

I'm sure Bloomie's price tag is a bit more elegant than this one, and they probably even give you a shopping bag, but the tag on the inside says it all.

Platinum Select sounds right up my alley.  Hope I can hold on to these for a while, towels seem to disappear around our house!

They Sort Of Look Alike

Been kinda looking for a desk, but probably won't end up buying one.  Must be something in the barn I can stick four legs on, like an old door, we'll see.


One of my rather strange hobbies is finding "the look for less."  I scour more expensive stores for things I like and then go on a treasure hunt.


Here are a few of my desk finds.  In these cases even the pricier one wasn't that pricey.

Z Gallerie $449.00

World Market $199.99

Crate and Barrel $499.00

World Market $229.00

Anything you are looking for?  I'd be glad to help you in the search!

A Fun Find

Love, love, love these watches.

So cute, I can't decide which one to order.  I'm thinking this one, I like the white face.

Now that's a lot of fun for $24.00.

I found these Pixelmoda bright, funky watches on fab.com. (thanks to my hairdresser) one of my favorite new internet haunts.  


Oprah likes Pixelmoda too, I knew we had something in common!

Red Carpet Glamour Cocktail

I'm not a movie buff, but I do like Champagne, I knew I'd like something about the Oscars!


Moet Red Carpet Glamour Cocktail.

Here's how you make it.


Fill a chilled champagne flute 1/2 way with ice.
Stir 1 ounce fresh squeezed Sour Mix and 1 ounce Hum Botanical Spirit with fresh ice.
Strain into flute to fill 1/2 way.
Top with Moet and Chandon Imperial.
Garnish with a single rose petal.


Now that's pretty easy.


Continually refresh as you wish with Champagne as it will float on top of the Hum Sour, but it's effervescence will deliver Hum's heady Cardamom and Kaffir lime notes.


To make Fresh Squeeze Sour Mix, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water until sugar is completely dissolved.  Add 1 cup fresh lime juice and 1 cup fresh lemon juice and refrigerate.


I just knew I'd find a use for those Valentine's Day roses!