Allow Me To Distract You With Colorful Photos

Like these....

 

Or this even...

Don't you just love those shoes? The colors!

I feel like I don't have a lot to say. The past couple of weeks feel like a bit of a blur.

The long weekend, it rained and rained and rained.

 

Wake me when the sun comes out.

 

 

The next week we had gloomy weather up until Thursday, when the sun came out with a vengeance. We had record high temperatures all weekend. It was too hot to move. We sat around and watched a lot of movies.



 

Wake  me when the sun goes down.

 

 

Things have been really busy at work lately, and last week was even busier. I was late getting home every night and mostly I was tired and didn't feel like doing much. So I didn't. I guess I'm giving myself a little time off.

 

This weekend has been pretty nice. It did get hot, but not as hot as last weekend. I had things that I was hoping to get done, but somehow I just haven't been organized enough, or motivated enough, I guess.

 

I did discover who is emptying my bird feeder every night though.

 

 

 

The full story is on the garden blog if you are interested. 



Quick 1-2-3…

Point 1:

Finally made it to the mailbox on Sunday afternoon and found a package waiting for me.

Thanks so much to Lynn for the fantastic giveaway. Coffee, chocolate & Chai – three favorite things! Husband is quite impressed that my blog reading leads to treats! He is wondering if I should start buying lottery tickets.

 

Point 2:

A friend mentioned that my favorite shoe store was having a big sale. I tried to resist, but it’s like I was hit with a tractor beam. Two pairs of flats, in 3 photos:

What can I say? Shoes make me happy.

Point 3:

Curious to see what the blossoms on a Green Thai Eggplant look like? Head on over to Frank & Zappa's garden  and take a peek!

Shoe-Stravaganza

For those of you who enjoy shoes as much as I do, I have some more shoe pictures to share.

But first, since I know not everyone shares my love of shoes, some food pictures and recipe links…

We tried a new slow cooker recipe tonight - White Bean and Apple Chili from A Year of Slow Cooking. To make it Husband-friendly, I replaced one can of beans with 2 boneless chicken breasts.

Other changes:

- I think I used slightly less chicken broth; probably 2 1/2 cups instead of 3.

- I added some chipotle chilis for a little extra heat and some smokey flavor.

- Shortly before serving I mixed together a bit of corn starch & flour then added it to the chili in the slow cooker to thicken it up.

- I didn’t add cheese, because I thought Husband would prefer it without, but I did sprinkle a bit on top of mine.

To to with it, I made this cornbread recipe. For the corn bread, I halved the recipe, switched the amounts for the flour and cornmeal (so more cornmeal, less flour) and used melted unsalted butter instead of oil. Just because I prefer butter.

Both came out really well. Husband had 3 pieces of the cornbread, so I think that was the favorite tonight.

On to the Shoes!

I mentioned on Monday that I made a return trip to the shoe sale. On the previous Friday I had bought the one pair of boots, but there were some other items that I was considering…

The pair that I had bought on the Friday were a no brainer. As I said, I’d been admiring them since the fall, they fit and felt very comfy. The other reason I didn’t hesitate is that they are Naots.

I have a pair of Naots that must be at least 5 years old, if not older. They have been worn regularly, they are still comfy and still in good shape. Here are the new and the old, side by side:

I still love the first pair, even though I’ve had them for a long time, so the new pair of Naots seemed like a safe bet.

I initially decided to stick with that one pair as my purchase in an effort to avoid impulse purchases. I regretted it almost right away, and almost went back the next day, but the sales lady had said that if I came back on Monday there might be an even better deal going on (at the time everything was 50% off). So I made myself wait until Monday.

On Monday when I went back, the sale was buy 1 item (at 50% off) and get the second item for 75% off. And both of the items I wanted were still there.

First – Anne Klein pumps.

I hesitated the first day because there was also a pair of black patent pumps that were quite nice and seemed maybe more practical. But I couldn’t decide so I left them both. After leaving the store, these Anne Kleins were the ones I regretted leaving behind.

Second – Green boots!

I can’t help it. I love them.

But, while I was there grabbing the two pairs of shoes that I had been obsessing about all weekend, I also saw a couple of other things…

Honestly, I just tried these Clarks boots on for the fun of it. They remind me of the granny boots I had…well…quite a while back now. Late 80’s? Early 90’s? But surprisingly they looked really cute with my jeans and were very comfy. What’s a girl to do at a shoe sale? Ahem.

The purse is larger than what I would usually buy – I’m only a small person after all and I don’t think my purse should be bigger than me. But I quite liked this. It’s got a sort of luggage look to it and I think it would be good for travelling.

So that was my haul. No shoe shopping for me for a good long while now, I think I’ve hit my quota…Well, at least until summer anyway.

Yes, I am fully aware that I have a shoe problem. I just don’t really want to do anything about it. :)

Fitness and Felines and Food! Oh My!

A little something for everyone. There’s even a new pair of shoes to be seen…

Fitness…

First up, a quick recap of Week 2 of my online fitness coaching experience. I mentioned a bit of this during the week, but I thought it would be good to have it all in one spot.

Sunday – Started off week two with the first Hyperbolic Resistance workout of the week, which was a circuit that I was supposed to complete as many times as I could in 20 minutes. By the time I was finished, my legs were shaky. I still managed to get in 40 minutes of Steady State Cardio (starting off very slowly until I was sure my legs would continue to hold me up) and Abs.

Monday – Intervals. This was meant to be a 45 minute workout, but I knew as soon as I started that I was in trouble. Ankles, shins, calves, all were complaining. I tried, but I ended up cutting it short, getting in 5/10 intervals and a total of 30 minutes of cardio.

Tuesday – Supersets Weight Workout plus Abs, plus a very cautious 30 minutes of Steady State Cardio.

Wednesday – intervals again. I stuck to walking and managed to do the full 45 minutes. It felt ok.

Thursday – Hyperbolic Resistance workout #2 – Another circuit, this time 5 sets as fast as I could. Then Abs. Then, for my cardio workout of the day I decided to take a break from the treadmill and did my Fat Burning Pilates DVD.

Friday – Rest.

Saturday – Yoga.

…And Felines (and shoes)…

I sat on the couch with my breakfast and coffee this morning, all covered up in my comfy, fuzzy blanket. Frank came and curled up next to my feet for a snooze. When I got up, Frank stayed put, and stretched right out.

I was doing some cleaning and tidying and came out of the kitchen to see this, which for some reason made me laugh.

I don’t know, just something about that face, those eyes peeking out from the comfy blanket…

Sorta looks like he’s posing for a photo shoot, doesn’t he?

Not to be outdone, Zappa got in on the action when I was trying to take a picture of my new boots – which I know some of you will appreciate.

I’d been eyeing these since the fall, but they were a little pricey so I just kept admiring from afar…Then on Friday I happened to walk by the shoe store and see sale racks…And there they were, just waiting to come home with me.

Not the best picture, but they are all shiny and pretty and very comfy. Happy JavaChick.

…And did someone say food? Oh My!

I didn’t photo all my food today – I was going to but then I forgot. However, what I did get was good.

First, breakfast…The fruit trays were calling my name when I went to the grocery store yesterday and I thought it would be a nice treat. Along with the fruit, my favorite Liberte Mediterranee Moka Yogurt.

I also had coffee, but I was all excited by my pretty plate of fruit and snapped a picture before I thought to pour coffee.

Then for supper, I did a Slow Cooker Experiment – I wanted to adapt a favorite meal that my Mom used to make (ok, she probably still makes it, I just don’t live there anymore so I don’t get to eat it. Boo.) .

I told Husband I was experimenting for supper and asked if he was scared. He said no. The man is no fun.

But he was also right.

I give you: Slow Cooker Italian Chicken & Potatoes.

It was very good. And we made enough to have leftovers tomorrow! Happy JavaChick! Again!

…And Finally…

I just thought these apples looked pretty.

That’s all folks…Hope you had a great weekend!

Pretty Shoes

Saturday morning I got my hair cut and then did a little shopping. For my fellow shoe fanatics enthusiasts, I present my purchases:



I am so in love with those red shoes and could not wait to wear them; I wore them out Saturday night, even though we were just going to a friends house and I'd have to take them off as soon as I walked in the door.

What can I say? Shoes make me happy.

Now I am wiped out. Weekend was busy again and I feel like I barely stopped. Hopefully a good sleep tonight will fix me up.

Shoes for the crazy cat-lady and more...

Why do weekends have to go by so fast?

Was a sunny one here, though not as warm as last weekend. Nothing exciting, just the usual weekend stuff - shopping, cleaning, laundry. I did add a new pair of shoes to my collection. Being the crazy cat lady that I am, I just could not pass these by:



Was excited to see my crocuses poking up earlier this week, and by the time the weekend rolled around, I had blooms.



The crocuses are in a flower bed outside the cat fence, so of course when I look up from taking the photo of my flowers, I see that I am being watched...



The new bulbs that I planted last fall, and that I have been obsessively watching over the past couple weeks are now fully in bloom, making lovely bright patches in my garden.







Of course, the violas are not to be outdone.



Last weekend when I was working out in the yard, Fred kept me company all afternoon but there was no sign of George. This weekend they were both out, but Fred was apparently not in the mood to pose for pictures, so I was only able to get photos of George.

However, a short time ago, I did manage to catch Fred snoozing on the couch. I just love the way Fred sleeps, he seems to really throw himself into the experience.

Get Your Shoe Fix Here

First: incline walk + lower body weights workout = sore glutes the next day. In case you were wondering.

Second: Just because The Bag Lady asked, shoes!

The spoils of my shoe shopping yesterday:


The boots are bronze, kinda funky I know. But I like 'em:


These shoes are made in Canada and supposedly winter-proof. I'm not sure I believe that, but they are very comfy and have a nice flexible sole with a bit of a tread to it. The purse is also Canadian-made.


3. To prove to The Bag Lady that I am indeed a grown-up, another picture of me - this time in my pajamas.

I can't imagine why she would say I look like a kid. You?


** You can't tell from your side of the internet, but I'm wearing my innocent face right now **

That's it for Saturday, folks!