Too Lazy to Blog

Sing a long, now won't ya?

Watch Out for Those Crocs!

I’m a little ashamed to even have to admit to wearing these “ugly-as-sin” shoes. My lavender pair (embellished with lavender rhinestones - - like anything could make these pass for “cute?) some how bred a pink pair AND a black pair (with faux lamb inserts).

These shoes have become part of my non-working life. They serve as slippers, sandals, you name it. If I’m not at work and not in bed, there’s a high probability that I am wearing one of these three pairs of shoes.

My lavender pair must be in the back of my closet along with my black pair as I have been wearing the pink pair for quite some time. I have been wearing them so much that the tread has worn off the bottom of the shoes and they have become virtual death traps.

Case in point: I stepped off the curb to get into my husband’s truck yesterday and slid off the curb and catapulted head first into the truck. Both my husband and daughter thought this was hysterical. After avoiding death, we ventured into Target. Their nice clean, glossy floors provided just the right medium for me to almost take a header in one of the aisles (Clean up on Aisle 6!). Again, husband and daughter thought this the funniest thing ever.

At escaping death for the SECOND time that day, I commented to my husband that these shoes were going in the garbage.

Later that evening, I was in my kitchen and my shoe got caught in the cupboard of the handle. Don't ask for specifics - I'm sure I couldn't do it again if I tried. Here's a pic of the hole where the handle got caught and the handle itself:

This resulted in me “trying” to fall but since my foot was still stuck on the shoe and the shoe was stuck on the handle, I wound up just doing a lot of hopping trying to brace myself for the inevitable. My daughter looked at me quizzically not knowing whether to cry or laugh. She opted for the latter.

As I lay on the kitchen floor, I looked up and lo and behold my shoe was still stuck to on the handle of the cabinet. I picked myself up, removed the shoe, took my other shoe off and put them in the garbage can.

I am vowing to live a “croc-free” life at least until I can find the lavender and/or black pair!

Movies Reviews on a Treadmill!

Lately, I've been walking on my treadmill. Concern over an ever- expanding waist line and pre-diabetic test results have compelled me to do something.

I've been watching movies while on the treadmill. Tonight's movie "To Sir with Love". I LOVE Sidney Poitier! Not only in this movie but in "A Raisin in the Sun", "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "A Patch of Blue".

I was merely a babe when these movies originally came out but I can't help but wonder, at the time, how middle America accepted this fine actor who just happened to be of African-American descent. We all know what was going on in the 50's and 60's with respect to the treatment of African-Americans.

While those were defined as "simpler" times, most folks now realize that there is just one race - the Human Race. In spite of all of the things going on in the world today, there is no other time era that I would rather live.

Ollie's Back on The Mend =)

My kitten Ollie is back on the mend! He's home, happy and things are back to normal. Now, I can exhale!

More Than a Little Scared

My poor little baby Ollie is at the emergency pet hospital right now with a 70/30 chance of survival. I accidentally gave him Advantage for my 120 lb. Bullmastiff rather than the cat one.

I am sick about it and I just want him home with me my under the covers purring in my ear. I'm devastated and I really want him to pull through!

My other cat is lost. She keeps meowing and looking in the closet for him. I sure hope he makes it.

El Uno Where El Televison Esta Broken

Help-o! This morning when I was making my bed, I touched a magical mystery button on my remote and now my TV has Spanish subtitles across the TV.

To remedy this, I have pushed every button on the damn remote and I still cannot get this off the screen!

However, I now know that"Tienes siete segundos" means "you have seven seconds". I feel like I am living in a sitcom - - complete with Spanish subtitles!

By tomorrow, I may be completely fluent in Spanish!

Adios Amigos!

I Wanna Hear You Squeal Like a Pig

Do you ever just SEE something and you have to have it? Whether it’s a donut or a candle or even a frosty milkshake?

Well today I happened to be on Etsy. For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Our custom engraved garden rocks are on Etsy. We sell under: Fioresi Designs.

Anyhoo, I came across the cutest little clothes for this little pig doll. It was not the clothes that I was really interested but it was this little piggy:

The clothes were sweet but I needed to have this little piggy! OK, technically, I did not NEED her but I could not see myself NOT having her.

After scouring the internet, I was lucky enough to find the seller of these dolls. The artist, Charles Stepan in conjunction with a sculptor known as “RainMan” (go ahead and laugh---I did!) make these gorgeous little piggies.

The little pig pictured above was released in limited edition of only 100 sold for nearly $300!

I can be quite the spendy fool but these little piggies are approximately 5” tall (14 cm). That’s 58 dollars per inch! Cute but I like my “dust collectors” to be a little more affordable. So I went with her less expensive counterpart:

Doesn't she just exude "sassiness"?

I did take a look at the one below:

but all I could think of was:

LOL! Did you think that too?

Now, I want to end this post but can't come up with a funny conclusion. Darn!

My "Crushes" throughout The Years

Ohmigawd! Do you remember Matt Dillon in "Little Darlings"?
He was gorgeous then and amazingly enough, he's still gorgeous!

I've already posted my thoughts on this hunka hunka burnin' love!

I'm ashamed to admit that there was a time where I was a
dyed-in-the wool mullet-lovin Billy Ray Cyrus fan

Antonio Sabato, Jr. - Zoinks Batman! This guy was gorgeous!

Technically, Joaquin Phoenix isn't celebrity"handsome" but I dig his soulful eyes.

My all-time favorite, Michael Buble. This requires no explanation as he's gorgeous
and his voice is as smooth as silk! I had the distinct pleasure of actually saying "hi"
to him and getting a "hello" back from him last August at his concert.
Ohmigawd, I'm a middle-aged groupie!

Ken Wahl- Not so appealing now but there was a time when I thought he was gorgeous.

Vince Vaughn - I don't know what it is about him.
Half the time, he looks bloated and has bags under his eyes and then there
are times where he looks darn good!

Donny Osmond was my "husband" in 4th grade. I loved him and remember
wearing purple(his favorite color) quite often!

Comparing Old Apples to Ripe Oranges

While walking on the treadmill today (ugh!) and watching "Roman Holiday" with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, I couldn't help but notice how handsome this man was!
As I was walking and watching the movie, I kept thinking that Gregory Peck looked familiar. For the life of me, I could NOT think of who he reminded me of.

During the last scenes, it finally dawned on me. Dermot Mulroney!

Sweeeet! Foot Foo! (that's my cat call whistle spelled out). Humina! Humina! Humina!

Roman Holiday was a terrific movie and I walked nearly 2 1/2 miles while watching it!

Tomorrow's treadmill movie: "The Stork Club" with Betty Hutton (yeah, I don't know who she is either)....

Will We or Won't We Make It to Italy This Year?

Woot! Woot! We finally came up with a new date for our trip to Italy. Early next Spring, we will be traveling to Florence:

and then head up to Bologna where my husband's family lives:


We will also visit the place I have been longing to visit and that is the Cinque Terre region:

We also plan to visit Milan and Venice as well. If you're familiar with Italy, we plan to stick to the mid-Northern part of the country. My father's family comes from Calabria and Bari regions but those are too far South to make it this trip. Maybe there'll be a next time?

I hope they speak English there as my Italian is limited to food and cuss words.

Etsy Cottage Style Fairy Swap

I joined a "Fairy Swap" on Esty Cottage Style which is a group of talented artists and crafters on Etsy.com. Of course, the kudos on this item goes to my husband Phil who is an extremely talented artist!


Here's our submission for the swap. I sure hope that the recipient LOVES it. Is it just me or does this rock look like a potato?


This handcrafted garden stone comes with a package of Candytuft Fairy Flower seeds. One simply places the rock next to planted seedlings and with her magic wand, this sweet little fairy is sure to provide the magical touch to ensure that the garden grows!**



**Rock is ACTUALLY for decoration only but then of course, YOU already knew that! =)

I Ain't No Art Critic but....

Last month, I went with my husband and 2 out of four of my kids up to Reno. We decided to stay at Peppermill as they had a swimming pool - their website neglected to mention that due to the configuration of the buildings and major construction, the pool is hidden in the shade 80% of the day. Combine that with the odd wicked "wind tunnel" and the pool was a no go.

On an unrelated note:

I love art by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (namely "The Kiss").


Imagine my surprise when the hotel lobby was plastered with his art. They actually had a replica of the very same photo in the lobby on our floor!


Upon closer inspection, I noticed there was something very wrong with this reproduction:

The eyes! Who in their right would think it's acceptable to do this? It was like a cruel joke. Every picture had some odd quirk to it.

Here's was the art in our room:

I'd like to term our room during that stay as "King Size, Extra Cheese". The Peppermill is going through a major renovation and instead of the tacky melamine, mirrors and flowers, THIS is what they came up with? How on earth did they find my grandmother's bedroom set?

Anyhoo, let's concentrate on the "art", please. Super huge piece of art, right. I slept on the side closest to it, and here's what I got to see:


Let's zoom in just a little closer:


Is it just me or does this look like the lady to the left is doing her best to stop the effusive bleeding of her friend?

This is what nightmares are made of.

Tales from The Mad Shopper!

or “Tales from the Mad Shopper”

I'm ashamed to admit it but I just spent a little over $220 on the decorative pillows shown above. The first pillow is from Bella Notte (www.laylagrace.com) and the wedge pillow is from Room Service Home (www.roomservicehome.com)

Every few weeks, I visit Cottage Chic’s website to drool over their display beds. For the bed pictured below, the cost for all bedding is “only” $2,439.00

Technically, I “could” afford it but at $2,439.00 (bed not included!), we would have to learn to live without such extravagances as food and electricity for a few months. So until I win the lottery or until a money tree springs up in my front yard, I can only afford the pillows.

I just bought the most beautiful hand-painted candles ($10 for the set) from one of my very favorite sellers, Covenant Lights (www.covenantlights.com). In my opinion, she doesn’t charge enough for these beauties but who am I to argue? These are going to look so wonderful in the candleholders that I just had my hubby repaint.

Going further, I am contemplating the purchase of this rug:

At $69 (www.sears.com) for a 20” x 30”, it’s reasonably priced, no? Now don’t you all go out and order it. I don’t want it to be out of stock again, should the urge to splurge hit me in the near future.

My last purchase I'd like to mention comes from one of my favorite brick and mortar (and online) vendors, La Bouquetiere (www.labouquetiere.com). The owner, Mario is very affable and has a nose for wonderful frangrances. I picked up a few packages of his Embrasse Moi French Laundry Powder:

As well as a gift basket for my boss' wife's birthday. After using Mario's terrific products, she's sure to put in a good word for me!

Until the next time, Adios Amigos!

Mindless Brain Lint

Like a new yearly planner, I always start out with a bang and somewhere after the 3^rd entry, my interest wanes and that’s the end of that.

It’s not that I am so busy crafting that I don’t have the time to blog. I honestly feel that I have nothing worthwhile to write about.

There’s also another element to this whole blogging thing that drives me batty and that is the amount of boasting going on in some blogs that I read. Tada! Look what I made! Look what I did! Aren’t I super fabulous?

Maybe it’s not bragging. Maybe these bloggers have a level of confidence that I don’t. I’ve seen blogs where the poster has taken pictures of and written about a meal they prepared. Everything looks perfect. Wonderful meal, gorgeous linens and a vase full of fresh cut flowers from the garden. OH MY GAWD! It’s like June Cleaver overload. Where do they find the time to do this.

If I photographed one of my meals, it would look something like this:

Now don’t get me wrong, I can fan open the wrapper and spread the French fries out in the most pleasant array. Honestly, I cook dinner about five nights a week (okay, three) but it’s never “picture worthy”. My table “linens” consist of paper towels – neatly folded into quarters.

Last night, we had a big dinner. It was good but definitely NOT photo-worthy. I placed my meal upon our non-vintage, mass produced dining room table that we share with my Singer 7470 (which occupies about 25% of the dining room table at all times.). We ate off plastic plates and used the following collection of my glassware:

This is why you will NEVER see pictures of my meals or my dining room.

Another thing that gets me is the photos these bloggers post of their gardens. Are they living straight out of “Better Homes & Gardens” If I don’t photograph a plant the very day I purchase it, then I’m SOL. Plants and I have never had had a lengthy relationship unless of course you count dandelions or these things:

Which if given the opportunity, would turn into these things: But the Calla Lily is beautiful, you say! I beg to differ. 90% of the time when I peek into the Lily, there is a big fat snail inside. Combine that with the huge prehistoric looking leaves and that’s just enough to compel me to rip them out. However, I’ve discovered that this plant’s root system must go down about 20 feet because no matter how many times, I rip them out, they ALWAYS come back. Sometimes they sprout right in the middle of one of my (dead and/or dying) lavender plants!

In addition to my “black” thumb, I also deal with:

No, this is not a creature from the bowels of hell. This is your typical garden variety mole. His sole purpose in life is destroying beautiful grass. He does NOT do any damage to your neighbor’s dead lawn. He much rather destroy your perfect lawn. The very sod that you just paid an arm and a leg for.

These are the two reasons you will NOT see pictures of my garden.