Pumpkin MIA

(image by Mariquita Farm)

So my dearest friend Valerie asked me if  I've seen any

canned pumpkin at the grocery store lately?

I didn't notice, I told her. So the following week I went to the

market to get some canned pumpkin for a few

recipes and sure enough,

"item out of stock".

HMMMM, that's strange.

So we went to NYC this past weekend and I thought while I

was there I'd see if I could get some canned

pumpkin.

Went to Trader Joe's and they said it's not in season just

yet.

So we went to Stop 'N Shop in Queens, NY

the same thing

"item not in stock".

The very next morning it was on the News:

PUMPKIN SHORTAGE!

Oh no, you know what that means, when they come into the

stores, people will be stocking up on them,

and I will be one of those people!

So disappointing, I LOVE pumpkin, I love it in so many ways

and I can't have any of it right now!

Had I known that, I would of planted some in our

garden!



An Amazing place!

This truly is the one place that relaxes me

and makes me slow down

and take a breather and reflect on my life.

Allows me to meditate and

appreciate all that I have and not take for granted

those around me.

We just returned from O.C. MD and had glorious

weather and enjoyed some

wonderful seafood, fresh and sweet and delicious.

It was a well needed vacation and

a great end to summer.



Great Reading!

Wow, is it September all ready?!

Beautiful weather so far

but looks like we're in for lots of rain

which I hope will give us

a pretty and colorful Fall around here.

So we spent the weekend at the

Beach,

One of my most FAVORITE places on the

earth,

and I read a book that will bring some tears

to your eyes.

It's not a happy book, or a funny book,

but one that is based on

actual events that took place in France,

one that I never heard of until I read this book,

Click Here for more info

It's a movie now, which I wanted to read before

seeing the movie,

but now, I will wait until I can rent it because

this is a movie I'd rather see

at home and not in theatre's, with a box of

tissue beside me.

It is a really good book, don't let the fact that

it is sad scare you,

it's a piece of history.

The character's are not real.

Hope you're having a nice long weekend!



Gluten Free Blackberry Cake

Over the weekend, after the Hurricane scare was over,

which was after the earthquake scare was over as well around here.

(tornado a mile from our house in May, so scary, then the earthquake that made my sofa literally bounce, now the hurricane, we finally got our emergency back packs ready for the "just in case we have to run" situation!)

I was ready to make a new recipe, gluten free. I received an email

with this delicious looking cake and I had to try it.

It is absolutely delicious and moist and if you served it to your non-gluten free friends, they'd never know the difference.

The recipe is from

Bella Gluten Free

and it is so easy to make and so delicious, the only thing is that the recipe doesn't call for any salt so I added a 1/2 teaspoon and it came out delicious.

Great with coffee or tea.

Next time I will make it with blueberries, because I LOVE blueberries!

On another subject, I added a curtain to my kitchen window which I left bare because the views from there are just beautiful and I didn't want anything to cover that up, plus we only get the morning sun there so I wanted to keep from putting anything up that blocked any natural light.

Going through my moms linens a week ago and we came across these pretty lacy table top runners and I took one to turn into a valance

It lets all the light in and the color goes perfectly, it's a cream color. I didn't even bother making holes in our walls I just hung the rod over on top of our cabinets and added cafe rings.

Can you see the pretty lace detail? Mom had a bunch of these in different sizes so I think I may be picking out some more when I see them again in New York.

Hope your day is as beautiful as mine!



Just Because....

I know it's been awhile since I've posted.



No one told me that when you put your house on the market

your life is OVER!

What I mean is, it takes OVER your life. You can't let a day

go by without organizing, sweeping or vacuuming,

when you've got cats, you've got to do it

EVERY DAY

because you'll see rounds balls of fur scurrying across your

floors, (did we get another cat?)

DID I NOT JUST SWIFF THESE FLOORS YESTERDAY!!??

So yes, I'm stressed, and frustrated and tired of people

walking through my house,

having to leave when they come, not knowing exactly when they will show up since they can't give you an exact time,

so they make it an hour.

Yes I'm whining, can't help it, I'm tired, and we dont' have kids

how do you do it with kids and toys and all that extra stuff?

My mom gave me this pretty and simple white valance with a lacy detail at the bottom and I think it is so sweet, so I put it in our

bathroom and I love it. It'll be the summer curtain.

I bought this sugar bowl a few years back and loved it. I used it

well, for sugar, until one day the lid broke and I was

so upset, I got it from an antiques store, not sure if it is

antique but either way, I thought it was sweet and I wanted to figure

out another way to use it, and,

Voila!

I can use it for my make-up brushes and it matches the bathroom

color so well.

Now I feel better.