Long Hair vs Short Hair

Good morning! So nice that it’s the weekend! I had a very busy and long week.  I’m considering a mini vacation next week, no kids or hubby, because I could really use the break. If I go, I’m heading to one of my most favorite places, Dana Point, Ca. I’m hoping the weather is beautiful. I want to sit on the beach with my toes in the sand sipping a warm mocha while I listen to the ocean. Awww, I feel myself relaxing already.

Moving on…I have question for you….Do men prefer long hair on women? A recent email from a reader, who is a male, said that Amber Lewis (the heroine in Across Eternity) would have been perfect if she had long hair. His comment really got me thinking. Do men desire women with long hair over those with short hair?

Here's my hair right after my daughter braied it (she was testing out her new clip).

Cleb hair long vs short

~type you soon~

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~ Estate Treasure~

I have a weakness for pictures—it doesn’t matter if they are paintings, drawings, or photos. If it catches my eye I want it. This love has gotten a little out of hand and I’m starting to hang pictures from floor to ceiling because I’m running out of room!  

I went to a local estate sale and found these two beautiful pictures.

The first one is a painting of fruit. I LOVE the frame. There’s a little chip in the paint in one area but other than that it’s in pretty good condition. It’s singed with the name “Lee” and I’m assuming that it was a family member who painted it.

Ready to hear how much I paid for it….drum roll please...50 cents! What a score!

This picture is a numbered drawing that has been lightly colored in (if anyone knows anything about it let me know). It’s matted and framed.

It’s number 56/300 and the title reads “Copper Candle Kennebunk Book Port”. The artist is Nancy Cooper Funk (I believe because that’s the name in the lower right corner).

Guess what I paid for it?….$3.00. Whoo-Hoo! What a Deal!

Those are my weekend bargains.

~type you soon~

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~Tarts~

I love tarts because they as so versatile and the shortbread crust is so yummy! They come in all shapes and sizes. Fortunately, they are usually ridiculously easy to make and they look so elegant when served.

This is one of the most beautiful tarts I’ve ever seen.

Love the chocolate crust on this.

Fig and Rasberry Tart.

Hazelnut Cranberry Tart

Apricot Tart

Since Easter is right around the corner I thought I’d leave you with this Raspberry and Lemon tart.

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh raspberries (rinsed and drained)

1 stick plus 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

Zest and juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup juice)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using your fingers, combine the butter, 1/2 cup of the sugar and 1 1/2 cups of the flour and blend together until coarse crumbs form. Pour the mixture into an ungreased nonstick 9-inch springform or cake pan and press down evenly to form a crust. Bake the shortbread crust until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.

Remove the shortbread from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Spread the drained raspberries evenly over the baked shortbread.

Beat the eggs with the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar until thick and pale yellow. Whisk in the lemon zest, the lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Pour the lemon cream over the raspberries and bake the tart until the custard is set, about 30 minutes. Let cool before serving.

~type you soon~

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~Bronson Pinchot & Ivanka Trump ~

I’m addicted to The Bronson Pinchot Project! It’s on the DIY channel. I fell in love with Bronson Pinchot in Perfect Strangers and Beverly Hills Cop. Now I’ve fallen in love with the homes Bronson restores. They are so amazing and beautiful. I also get a kick out of how funny and witty he is. For those of you that don’t know, Bronson Pinchot is a genius (for real). He’s off the charts crazy-smart and I find his humor refreshing. Please don’t think I’m implying intellectual people can’t have humor…it’s just he’s so relaxed and not uptight. If I’ve offended any intellectual geniuses out there please note that my son started college when he was 13…so I have a smatry-pants living under my roof…LOL

Check out some of these homes.

(This is Bronson's Home)

Before

After

Believe it or not, the hutch hides the refrigerator!

On to more beautiful things…

Did you know Ivanka Trump designs clothes and just launched a line? I just discovered this. She is doing it all...clothing, shoes, handbags and jewelry. Some of the pieces are actually quite pretty. And they are affordable pieces.

I love this top for spring.

 ~type you soon~

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~Amazing Picture~

This bike was left chained to a tree when a young man went to war in 1914. The picture is taken near Seattle, Washington.

There's something about this picture that moves me. Perhaps it’s just the romance and mystery to such a sad story.

I think this would make an amazing book over.

 ~type you soon~

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~Happy St. Patrick's Day~

I hope a little luck comes your way today.

Enjoy something green.

 ~type you soon~

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~the Big Tidy-Up~

This is one of my all time favorite books from when I was a kid. It brings back so many great memories. I loved this book until it fell apart. It's called the Big Tidy-Up and is written by Norah Smaridge, and illustrated by Les Gray. The copyright is 1970.

  It's a story about a little girl, named Jennifer, who hates cleaning her room, so her mother lets her keep it a mess.  But, of course, it becomes so messy that it's not fun anymore, so she decides to clean it up in the end.

The illustrations are adorable and it actually inspired me to clean my room—if you can imagine that.

So what’s one of your favorite childhood books?

 ~type you soon~

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~Spring Forward~

I’m anxiously awaiting spring. It feels like it’s almost here! The local stores and markets have been teasing me with their beautiful spread of colorful flowers and abundant green veggies. I gave in and bought one heirloom tomato. My hubby rolled his eyes when he spotted it sitting in the center of the patio table…“You just couldn’t resist, could you.” NOPE!

My daughter and I love Violas. We call them Johnny Jump Ups. We have planted these in every color, shape, and size over the years—we can’t get enough of them.

Since they are edible we tossed them in salads and cookies. My daughter gets very creative and I never know where they might end up…she has fixed me an iced-tea with a handful of these cute miniature pansies in it.



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~Amazing Libraries~

Everyone knows I absolutely love to read but they may not know I love libraries. I can easily spend an hour or two in a library and not even realize it. Check out some of these beautiful libraries. They are a sight to behold. I could stay forever in any of these. Do you reading addicts agree? The smell of old books is intoxicating!

Trinity College in Dublin

Klementinum National Library in the Czech Republic

Suzzallo Library of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington

Royal Library El Escorial in Spain

The Los Angeles Central Library in Los Angeles, California

Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD

 

The Austrian National Library

The Parliamentary Library in Canada

National Library of Finland in Helsinki, Finland 

José Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City, Mexico

 ~type you soon~

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