I tend to be disillusioned by politics…and try not to speak too much on the subject. But I must say…these are not the people I want representing Minnesota (or the nation for that matter)! Oh dear.
{Tim Pawlenty & Michele Bachmann at the Iowa GOP/Fox News Debate via Star Tribune}
{Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Newsweek Cover via Washington Post}
You have my promise there will be no more politics talk from me…just needed to say that I’m nervous for 2012…
{Click photos for their source}
“TGIF”…and “TGIHH” (Thank Goodness it’s Happy Hour)!! Here’s a recipe and lovely photographs from Emily at Cupcakes and Cashmere for a refreshing twist on the classic margarita. Mix, Drink, Enjoy!
{Orange – Lime Margaritas}
Orange-Lime Margaritas
2 limes
1/2 orange
2 1/2 oz. tequila
1 oz triple sec
1/4 oz. agave syrup
1/4 oz. Grand MarnierIn a cocktail shaker with ice, juice 2 limes and 1/2 orange. Add tequila, triple sec, and simple syrup. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain over glass with new ice cubes and float Grand Marnier on top.
Not sure where Emily got her delightful cups…but here is a similar one from Anthropologie:
{Fleur-De-Lys Juice Glass}
Check out Cupcakes & Cashmere for many more recipes & other charming posts!
{Click on photos for their source}
{Photo via NASA Images}
Perseid Meteor Showers have been observed for about 2,000 years—and I have yet to witness them. I’m going to try my best to catch their latest appearance here in the Northern Hemisphere on Friday night/Saturday morning. My visibility may be hampered in the Twin Cities because of city lights & a full moon on the 13th.
{Photo by Kevin Clifford/AP}
Here is a little snippet from Astro Bob, a blog right out of Duluth, MN:
Over millenia, the comet has left a trail of dust along its orbit, which the Earth passes through every year in mid-August. When we do, the dust hits our atmospheric ‘windshield’ the same way bugs smack a car’s windshield. Instead of leaving a mess, the dust hits the atmosphere at such a high speed it vaporizes in a flash of light we call a ‘shooting star’ or meteor. Perseids smack the rarefied air 70 miles over our heads at around 135,000 miles per hour.
Whether or not you go out before dawn mid-week or wait until the big night, the best way to watch the shower is in comfort. Settle into a lounge chair or stretch out on a soft blanket facing east. The later you’re up, the more meteors you’ll see, as Perseus rises higher and higher during the night.
Check out Astro Bob’s blog for all things astrological…I failed astrology in college, so it’s nice to have it explained in laymen’s terms!
Happy star-gazing…
{Click photos for their source}
Checking the news, both local & international, each morning has become a habit for me…I feel a little more connected to my community & place in this world by being informed. It also seems to help place things in perspective for me.
But I must admit that sometimes I am overwhelmed…because of course there are wars, famine, crimes & injustices happening all across the corners of the globe. Then again, maybe I just have to look harder to see that for each devastating event there usually is an outpouring of good that tends to go unnoticed.
Take for instance the current crisis in London with days of restless youths rioting across the city…we are flooded with these images:
{Photo via BBC}
{Photo via BBC}
But here is an expression of support, from citizens in the same city, for a looted shop owner:
{Photo by Matt Dunham/AP}
Does the good outweigh the bad in our world…I don’t know, but I’d like to believe so. Thank you to all the thoughtful, committed citizens who try to do good each & every day. It does make a difference. It does matter!
{Click photos for their source}
{Print by Julie Kramer Cole}
Codi: “So you think we all just have animal dreams.
We can’t think of anything to dream except our ordinary lives.”
Loyd: “Only if you have an ordinary life.
If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.”
~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams
{Click photos for their source}
It’s only Tuesday…just a plain ‘ole, boring Tuesday…but I feel like having a party when looking at these photographs! Happy Tuesday!!!!!
{Throwing Glitter In The Rain by Daisy Lola}
{Untitled by Amanda Pham}
{4/365 by Donna Irene}
{Click photos for their source}
“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yesterday, August 7th was International Friendship Day which honors the truly valuable role friends play in our lives. I hope you were able to be amongst your dear friends to enjoy it.
Have you browsed through the book A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart by Maria Alexandra Vettese & Stephanie Congdon Barnes? I just did & it was lovely. Two friends embarked on a photographic journey in which they each documented their mornings for a year…even though they were thousands of miles apart.
Not only is it a wonderful testament to the bonds of friendship but also a simple, beautiful journal of those precious daily moments we too often pass by.
Have a splendid morning…
{Click photos for their source}
It’s August…wait, what…how did that happen?! Summer as usual is flying by. Guess I better make a nice, cool drink and relax before the summer is over. Here’s another delicious cocktail recipe & lovely photos from the ingenious foodie blog What Katie Ate. Cheers!
{Apple, Ginger & Cranberry-Vodka Cocktail}
**Click Photo for Zoom Option**
If you’d like to drink your cocktails in similar style here are some cute Drinking Straws & Mason Jar Mug set from Pottery Barn:
{Outdoor Straws}
{Mason Jar Mug, Set of 6}
{Click photos for their source}
There are so many creative people out there…one such being Jordan from Oh Happy Day. She teamed up with Yahoo!Mail to create this special DIY project entitled Postcard Birthday Poster. It sounded perfect for my best friend’s 30th birthday…especially because many of his close friends & family live in other states.
Jordan’s blog post comes complete with step-by-step directions, beautiful photographs & even all 25 downloadable postcards. Since I was in a time crunch & going for 30 and not 25 postcards I created a word document which I took to FedEx/Kinkos to have blown up, laminated & cut into the 30 (4 ¼ X 6”) postcards.
I sent out all of the pre-addressed & stamped postcards with directions to the intended 30 friends & family at the end of June. That way all through-out the month of July my friend started receiving the postcards.
Unbelievably the last of the cards arrived the day before his July 29th Birthday. It was so special hearing how his confusion at first turned into excitement and anticipation as the poster slowly came together.
I loved receiving text messages with him proudly declaring his progress… 
I highly encourage anyone out there to try this little poster project…it was a big hit, packaged with a lot of love! And check out Oh Happy Day for many more ingenious ideas!
{Click photos for their source}
Oh how I do love to read…isn’t it just the best feeling when you come across a line or verse within a book that resonates so completely that it’s as if both your head and heart swell!! Here’s a little snippet from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston…
“He drifted off into sleep
and Janie looked down on him
and felt a self-crushing love.
So her soul crawled out
from its hiding place.”
{Click photos for their source}
