Jennuine

Small Town...Small World... Well, the Facebook Fairy did it again ~ through the magic of networking, she reconnected me with one of my brother's friends from our school days here in Pacific Grove.  I feel blessed and honored to say that I now consider her a dear friend too.  This amazing mom, creative force, fellow foodie, and all-around "good-egg" has opened an Etsy store ( Arco Iris ), launched a blog ( Till Death Do Us Art ) and website with such talent, creativity, and gusto ~ all in the time it takes me to decide on a post title!  Amazing!  Now get this ~ As Holly (from 504 Main ) and I were driving up to the Alameda Point Antiques Fair this past weekend, we got to talking blogs (fancy that!) and happened upon the subject of Iris's beautiful jewelry (which Holly had just purchased!).  As with any online purchase, Holly provided her shipping address and...HOLY SMOKES... Iris used to live in the same house (way back when).  Small World, indeed! Oh,

We try our best not to overindulge our children, yet despite our best intentions they still have toys coming out their ears! Come Christmas and birthdays it seems like our tiny house is going to burst with all the plastic pieces, excessive packaging, and generously gifted glut! So, this past September when my daughter turned 8, we came up with a new concept ~ The Party With a Purpose . First, we chose a cause near and dear to HER heart: Animals . We arranged with our local humane society (SPCA) to have a party on their premises. Guests were asked to bring a gift of blankets, towels, toys or treats for the animals, instead of a gift for my daughter. The generosity was overwhelming. The SPCA gave a wonderful presentation and slide-show and then took everyone on a tour of their facilities. After we had a brownie sundae bar (served in doggy dishes of course) on a sunny deck outside the education center, overlooking the barn where two baby goats had been born earlier in the week. I

A few weeks ago I was approached by the folks at POM Wonderful ~ the makers of that delicious (and antioxidant rich) 100% pomegranate juice ~ and was asked if I would like try to create some culinary magic using a complimentary case of their product.  I jumped at the opportunity to work with something new!  I've enjoyed POM Wonderful before ~ straight out of the bottle and mixed in cocktails ~ but being given creative license to create my own POM recipes sounded like the perfect holiday kitchen challenge!  So, with holiday parties and open-houses in mind, I created a cozy cocktail to ward of the winter chill, and evoke the essence of what we cherish most about the holidays.  Here the gold of the apple cider and the crimson of the pomegranate juice mingle to create a jewel-toned toddy that nearly glows with holiday warmth and sentiment.  It takes only minutes to prepare a large batch, perfect for parties and large gatherings. Sandro Botticelli - Virgin of the Po

"When Joseph's favorite overcoat gets old and worn, he makes a jacket out of it. When the jacket is more patches than jacket, Joseph turns it into a vest. When the vest's number is up, Joseph makes a scarf. This thrifty industry continues until there's nothing left of the original garment. But clever Joseph manages to make something out of nothing! (And that's the foreshadowed moral of the story.)" ~ Amazon Book Review JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT is at once fanciful and wise, thought-provoking and engaging, and a most wonderful book to give a young person this holiday season.   It's at the top of my list of books that every child should have in their home library.  Here's the background on what inspired this post and the recommendation: I've been struck several times this week by an almost overwhelming THANKFULNESS, brought on by some simple acts that so many of us take for granted: shopping for groceries for the holiday, purchas

(my maternal grandmother, Rose, is the baby pictured above) I've never been particularly comfortable droning on and on about myself, but this week's posts seem to have been just that.  Thanks for bearing with me, for indulging me my follies, and for keeping my spirits high with your kind comments! But enough about me already!  I want to hear about you... With the Thanksgiving week nearly upon us, I'm thinking a lot about family. So the question is: Does your family (mom, dad, brothers, sisters, etc) read your blog? If not, do you know why?  How do you feel about that? If yes, how do they interact with your blog?  Do you write about them?  Ever write something you wish you hadn't?

It's been a week of bloggerly love and some darn good ego strokes.  The icing on the cake was today's news from Ms. Bibi at From Misery to Happiness in 365 Days that she's awarded me the "Gorgeous Blogger Award".  Not "Gorgeous Blog".  Gorgeous Blogger .  Me?  Me!  Yippee!  By accepting this award I am supposed to tell you 6 things you might not know about me and then pass it on to another gorgeous blogger. Six things.  Hmmm.... Let's see... 1)  People who know me would undoubtedly charactarize me as feminine ~ a girly girl ~ but I definitely harbor an inner tomboy; always have.  I was raised with three brothers, so hanging out with the guys just comes naturally.  I still ooh and ahh over Tonka trucks, fire engines, and dinosaurs.  My shoe of choice is the high heel, but if I truly had my druthers I'd go shoeless and splash in mud puddles.  I loathe chick flicks and love super heroes!  Also (just had to throw this out there), I t

I'm a smitten kitten and am tickled pink by the generosity and kindness of many of my fellow bloggers this week.  They're simply the cat's meow, so I thought I'd send a little love back into the blogosphere by posting some free clipart/graphics:  3 vintage cat images from my personal collection.    Download, save, create, enjoy!