yummy salads

My cousin Dianne made this fruit salad at a recent party we had. It was so delish, I asked her to make it for a party I am having for my brother who is turning the big *0 on Sunday. Her sister made the green salad, which was also yummy.

The silly photo there is Dianne's daughter who we zipped up just for the fun of it!

pretty as a picture soap

This is one of the inexpensive arrangements I made last week for the party we are throwing for Scotter. Thought I would display it in the bathroom. It's just rose soap petals, in the middle, surrounded by "Celebrate" mini napkins. Each was about one buck. It's cute and practical, the soap, pretty as it is, does work!

coffee ground scrub

I like the relatively inexpensive scrubs at Trader Joe's. But I'm trying to cut back on my beauty routine. I like the idea of being green, too. So I have been reusing my coffee grounds and turning them into scrubs. I just add a little oil and that's it....The grounds feel really great on my skin.

I haven't perfected the scrub to the point where it's comparable to something store bought, but I think it's just as effective as a store bought one when it comes to exfoliating. I have also heard that coffee grounds are good for cellulite.

pretty in pink flowers and dish towels

I have a thing for dish towels. Not sure why because I really don't LOVE doing dishes. I just think they can be very beautiful. I found these at a supermarket of all places. I had been looking all over, even fancy places, but wasn't able to find anything as pretty as these. I wanted to replenish our stack before the April 26 party we are throwing at my house.
I also love pink, which I'm sure isn't a surprise to many of you who have been reading and so I made an arrangement with these roses (paper ones) that I bought at Rite Aide for only $2 dollars. They were originally $4. I wasn't sure what to do with them, but they really spoke to me. The vibrant pink was too pretty to turn down. So I bought them and when I got home I put them in a jar (with black rocks) that I had purchased at a tag sale that Kathy and I went to a few weeks ago!

Simple and healthy bean dish

I am trying to eat a lot of beans lately because they are really good for you. My holistic md's office is really into them, too. They told me beans should be the primary protein source.

This dish is very simple.

I started off with a few tablespoons of grapeseed oil and one chopped onion in a pan. (I have been told that if you are going to heat your oil, you should use grapeseed oil, not olive).

After stirring for a few minutes, I added my great northern bag of beans (which had already been washed) and about a quarter gallon of water, and one can of tomatoe paste. A few hours (and a little more water later) of stirring, the bean dish was ready!

I did the math and it appears there are about 1000 calories in this whole pan. It lasted me more than three meals even after I shared it with someone.

Make your own greeting cards

I have always been obsessed with greeting cards and have always had way more than I can send. These days, when I send many more emails than snail mail, I try to buy less. But the lure is still there. I like to have cards on hand for when I go to a party, hate the idea of always having to run out at the last minute to buy a card. I have many blank white cards, too, so I can create my own at the last minute. I created a few of these for friend's birthday parties and made a few extras just to have on hand for when I need a birthday card.