The past week or so of sunny days and springtime delights has made me crave the tastes of summer and making lighter, less-cooked meals and packing in more fruits & vegetables wherever I can. This week I came up with two new recipes I wanted to share, and you'll find them In the Kitchen.
This Lentil Salad was inspired by Mediterranean flavors. Some mixed salad leaves, tomato & cucumber slices with a yogurt dressing and toasted pita bread along with the lentil salad made this a wonderfully fresh & easy dinner to prepare. Not to mention, that it's just bursting with healthy goodness!
No more "heavy" potato dishes...It's time for lightening up! One evening I came up with this Summer Potato Salad. A lemony-olive oil dressing compliments a very different potato salad featuring sun-dried tomatoes, scallions and snow peas. Paired with some fish cakes (these made of herring, and bought at my local market), I think we'll be having this potato salad often in the spring & summer days ahead.
Hope these recipes will inspire you to revisit favorite summer dishes, and maybe try these too.
Somehow I managed to forget to post about this choker necklace & earrings set I made. I actually made these last weekend. A nice way to unwind after lots of time at the sewing machine and just relax after a busy week. All the beads are glass, some beautifully flecked with gold. Simple findings keep the focus on the beads and all their dusky purple hues. I love beading and would like do more...So many crafts, so little time! LOL! This necklace & earrings set I created for myself, for a particular outfit in mind. But check back here later, as I hope to have some more jewelry offering in future.
With a beauty of a weekend in store for us, Dear Husband & I will be spending some time out of doors, tidy up the flower bed, pruning, and generally getting ready for planting later. I hope to get some seeds started too. Dear Husband & I have off next week and through Easter weekend. We'll be making the most of the days by doing some home improvement projects inside the house, and maybe out-of-doors too if the weather holds out--lots to do with this old place we have! But we plan to squeeze in some fun times, finding a nice equal measure of work & play. But I'll be here between times, and share some tasty morsels of many kinds along the way!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Happy Days! :o)
Today I will let the pictures speak for themselves...Here is the finished bag I mentioned in the last post. I just love the colors of the bag front--the circles like a kaleidoscope stuck between turns. A coordinating striped lining adds more fun, as do the clear acrylic handles. The challenge with this project was the inner zippered pocket. The rosette on the bag front is a removable pin. A great summer bag with lots of retro-flair! If anyone would like to purchase the Blue Kaleidoscope Bag, please see the 
This week saw the return of spring--at last! A string of sunny days had the crocuses in full bloom. We have some purple and yellow crocuses scattered here & there in a couple of flower beds, along with some white crocuses veined with purple. There are too few of the white & purple variety, which I should remedy later this year when bulb planting. Soon there will be daffodils & tulips. I love the unfolding of spring, each week unraveling one beauty after another. My fingers are itching to do some gardening and play in the dirt...But it is too early to plant out anything, even most seeds. So I will content myself with making little sketches of where to place things in the flower beds and kitchen garden later.
A busy craft week. I'm putting the finishing touches on a new handbag I've been working on, and hope to show her off here during the weekend. The little zippered bag is a new design I've been working on, the bag having a more structured bottom. This particular bag is a gift for a friend. But I hope to make a couple more of these in different colors/styles. This week's "lesson" was working on different applications of zippers, this zip bag was practice on sewing a zipper as well as making up a new bag. I used to be somewhat afraid of sewing zippers, but not now. Now I'm fearless with zippers! LOL!
Last weekend Dear Husband & I had a wonderful time celebrating our anniversary. As an extra special treat I made this Lemon Kiss Cheesecake--the tang of some lemon juice with the usual cheesecake mixture
If there are tulips in bloom where you are already, hope you find some time to tip-toe through them this weekend...Wishing you all a glorious Springtime! Happy Days! :o) 
It is the small things that bring the greatest joys, splendid delights...A bird's song, a ray of sunshine through a cloud, the velvet softness of a cat, the scent of an old-fashioned rose. Or an ambrosial taste sensation...Like this one--Maple Cream Cheese Dates with finely chopped pistachios! A tiny cup of espresso and glass of cognac adds that little extra, making for a luxurious evening treat. It's very easy to make these filled dates. A recipe can be found 
Just stopping by to show you something I've been working on this week. Last night I finished making this half-moon clutch bag. The paisley print fabric in fresh ready-for-spring colors of pinks, red and pale aqua is accented with light pink velvet ribbon and a covered button-rosette. 
Happy Days! :o)
