The Shoes that beat out Mackinac Island Fudge!

remember we went to Mackinac Island the last week of our summer vacation? 

(are these homes dreamy or WHAT? do people that own these places know how lucky they are? 

well, then again...there is NO Target on the island, so lucky??...)

if you know anything about mackinac island in michigan, you know about their FUDGE!  they're kinda famous for it. fudge AND horse poop. 

because of course, there are no motorized vehicles on the island. ok, there IS a fire truck and an ambulance, but duh, ya kinda gotta have those. ok, where was i going?  oh yeah... the fudge.  there are fudge shops everywhere on the island and it's practically illegal to leave the island without purchasing it.  i'm not a huge fan of fudge, i like a tiny little bite, the kind they give free on the end of a toothpick, but a chunk of fudge? tooooooooooooooooo sweet!  so anywhere, darling and i are going into every shop on the island while the mister hangs around outside answering his phone.  we stop into "Decked Out", the most fabulous clothing, shoes, and accessories shop!! 

(photo by darling. weird face by me)

i yell to darling "go get daddy", 'cause we need some $$, of course!

(oh, who thinks he's a comedian!?)

they have a fan page on facebook if you want to check them out: Decked-Out-on-Mackinac-Island 

so anyway the whole point of this long rambling story is: i bought shoes at this shop and left the fudge behind, the end.

so lets move on to said shoes, cause they are awesome!

perhaps i should have wiped the bottom off...?

don't worry, darling did get a sweet treat on the island

although once we got on the boat to go back, we noticed they shorted us 2 pieces and it wasn't as pretty as the pieces in the showcase. oh well, it was some sweet, sugary stuff that she loved!

Happy Monday!!

10 Random Things Friday...

Ummm, i gotsta, gotsta hurry and i should have done this (post) last night but i didn't because a new episode of "First 48" was on and if you know anything about me, you know i LOVE me some police 

drama!!!! 

Ok....

1. This is why i need to get busy:

("trash", so i don't try to eat out of it, i guess?!)

 i can hardly stand to show these, it is OUT OF CONTROL!  i'm in a downward spiral with photo's. i have soooooooooooo many and i just can't keep them in a box. at this point i am sooooooooo behind that i am going NUTS trying to get them in albums. i have given up doing the xtra fancy pages but i'm a little psycho about making sure they are in date order.  there are stacks and stacks and stacks of pages waiting to go into albums.  as much anxiety as this causes me, i know most would encourage me to just give it up- but it is NOT happening, i'm in too deep!

(paper only- you know, so i don't put "trash" in it!)

2. I'm going to start this book (in LARGE print edition! cause i'm 42 now)

 after i finish this.

3. i put food coloring (1 drop) in my soap to make it fancy and match my kitchen.  i'll let you know if my hands are blue by the end of the month.

4. i'm giving this mascara a try-it says "AVEC volume boosting complex" and because i am a marketing person's dream and believe EVERYTHING they put on packaging... i bought it!

(it's by Rimmel London)

5. The Mister is getting ready for a BIG hunting trip... have ya ever seen so much camo?

6. from my yard

7. i've got this long skinny laundry room, it needs glamified! here is the before, the after is still in my head.  the walls are chocolate brown, i'm going to try and think around that because i HATE to paint and the mister wasn't keen on hot pink walls...

8. one of the projects in that sewing book of kids clothes. i want to dress like this, so therefore, Darling is going to. shut up, i know i can't sew, but in my mind i can and that's where it counts, right?

9 have i mentioned my awesome friend Chris who drew this picture of my daughter (when she was 3 at an Easter egg hunt-my daughter, NOT Chris).  i need to get it framed, it's a goal before the end of this year!

 let's look a little closer, because it is awesome!

10. PLEASE take a look at the above tab, the one about the kids hat drive. if you would facebook, blog or twitter this information, i will LOVE you forever!!

(this photo is from last years hat drive. the poor little one in the front isn't so happy about being in a baby pile!)

i'd also like to announce which orphanage will be receiving the hats this year:

Chengdu City Children's Welfare Center.

IF you have ANY questions about this hat drive, please email me!!

chinamommy_04@yahoo.com

DIY Easy Iced Coffee Goodness

Ok, I know not everyone loves coffee (dorks) and even those that do enjoy a cup O' Joe, may not enjoy ICED coffee, but you should!  Let me share with you a tasty little treat I love to make for myself during the 3 months of warm weather we enjoy here in Michigan.  This is how this mama makes it:

1. Brew some strong black coffee over ice (I like to use dark roast because it's going to get watered down.)

 2.  Add some more ice and some half and half... or if you're lame, skim milk...or if you're Aunt Boozie, add Baily's.

 3. Get out your "Silver Bullet", realize your Mister has left it COVERED in tomato gunk and vow to just shut up and wash it yourself because he was making chili you are going to enjoy all winter and he's the one out slaving away at a real job while you make iced coffees and blog the days away...

 4. Blend it.

 5. Put a bird on it and enjoy!  I mean "Stick a straw in it and enjoy"!! 

Mmmmm....

(I like to blend it, 'cause i'm fancy!)

Back to SCHOOL!

Yesterday school FINALLY started here in Michigan!  

apparently it was exhausting...

(I know-striped socks, striped leggings?-it was fine with the shoes on!)

With the start of school comes the ever important question...WHAT DO I DO FIRST!!!???

Finish my Darling's quilt?

 Finish the family quilt?

 learn how to use this, the Lexus of sewing/embroidery machines? (that I do NOT deserve to own!)

 I NEED to learn how to use the above so i can make something from this book!!!!!

 Embellish, sort, and put these pages into albums?

 and these....

 Re-paint my desk...school bus yellow!  I know, I know... I JUST painted it off white!!

 Finish painting my bench before it gets put away for the....gulp, WINTER!?

 learn this bad boy?

get started on my bedroom wall stencil? re-paint my gumball machine? start painting some of the stock piled canvas's i have? re-pot my plants?  

Seriously, I have so much stuff to do, I don't know where to start!! Have you got any projects started? Anything you need to finish but just don't want to?  I did get my front and side door painted this weekend! I have got to finish the trim and then I'll post pictures!!

Have a great day!! and check out the baby hat drive tab at the top!!!

10 Random Vacation snippets!

Get ready, it's like your grandpa's vacation slide show, only BETTER!

1. We got home from vacation this morning at 12:30ish

Vacationing can be hard, or rather, coming BACK from vacation is hard!

2. We were in Northern Michigan and then went into the UP and over to Mackinac Island!

3. We didn't eat at any chain places the whole trip.  The Mister suggested we try only mom and pop restaurants and it was a REALLY great idea!

4. One place we didn't eat and not ONLY because it wasn't open...

If you have a small dog, you might think the same thing we did... Coming Soon: little dogs poops on buns!

5. Traverse City got crochet bombed

6. While in Traverse City I saw: the receptionist where I use to work and hadn't seen for 7 years! I also saw a friend from High School that I hadn't seen since 1987!  

7. Look at this place on the beach...

We got the low down from some people we met on the beach... there was a LOT of local drama surrounding this house.  It took them over 4 years to get it built, apparently the locals weren't thrilled about this McMansion.  Hey... isn't it their $ and their property?...

8. We took a horse drawn carriage ride all over Mackinac Island, here is our view

9.  I think this lady got left behind...

10.  My darling starts 3rd grade on Tuesday.  She is excited, I am a tiny bit sad...the years are flying by!  The good news: the blog will get back on track! I'll be back to blogging on a much more regular basis and hope to be better than ever.  I've spent a lot of time thinking of what direction I want to go with my blog and with my etsy shop (who died a slow painful death over the summer).

Have a wonderful weekend and we'll chat SOON!!

Oh yeah, and here's a bonus for the weekend!!!!!
a 50% off coupon to Michael's good thru Monday the 5th
coupon HERE!

Tasty Tomato Tuesday and the WINNER

i LOVE grilled/cooked tomatoes but i HATE fresh uncooked tomatoes, weird, hun?!  the mister likes tomatoes any way you fix them, but seriously, how many can 1 man eat?

some may say (me) that the mister tends to go overboard with his garden.  you decide:

tomato area #1

tomato area #2 (cause 1 wasn't enough?)

so what's a girl to do with tomato overload?

make these!!!:

grilled tomatoes with mozzarella and fresh basil

1. slice fresh tomatoes (pretty thick- how's that for a unit of measurement?)

2. lay on non-stick foil (love this stuff)

3. drizzle with white balsamic vinegar 

4. grill till they are nice and cooked and the vinegar has cooked down a bit

5. lay a slice of fresh mozzarella on each slice, let melt a tiny bit and remove from the grill

6. top with a fresh basil leaf

 7. go crazy! or at least we will because we have 4,982 more tomatos to eat up!!  Yummmm!!

hope you enjoy this.

and I want to announce the WINNER of the My Memories software is....

KJIRSTEN!!

Kjirsten, just email me at chinamommy_04@yahoo.com and we'll chat! 

Thank you so much to all who entered! If you'd like your own copy here is the code for $10 off the software AND $10 in goodies from their shop:

STMMMS83174

and here's the link to their shop:

my memories